Chapter 1: Life in the Son - Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance (2024)

Chapter 1: Life in the Son - Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance (1)

Books by Robert Shank

Life in the Son

Elect in the Son

God’s Tomorrow: The Life Beyond Death

Sources of Power of the Apostolic Witness

Until: The Coming of Messiah and His Kingdom

Jesus, His Story

Chapter 1: Life in the Son - Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance (3)

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Contents

Cover

Half Title

Books by Robert

Title

1. By Grace, Through

2. The High Cost of a Free

3. Life in the

4. Saving Faith (Part

5. Saving Faith (Part

6. If You Continue in the

7. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part

8. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part

9. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part

10. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part

11. Security of the Believer—Conditional or

12. If We Deny

13. God Is

14. The Seal of the

15. Apostasy: What Is It? Who Can Commit

16. Shall Never

17. Born of

18. God’s Good

19. Destroying God’s Good

20. The Dangers of Eating Idol Food (Dining with

21. Disqualified for the

22. Saved—But

23. Once for

24. Absolute Safety and Security for Sinning

25. The Lord Disciplines His

26. Apostasy: Real or

27. We Cannot Serve Two

28. The Destiny of Those Loving

29. Kept by the Power of

30. That You May Know That You Have Eternal

31. Is Apostasy Without

English Bible

Greek-English Interlinear/Literal

Index of Scripture

About the

Back

Foreword

When I was an undergraduate student in Bible college, one of our textbooks for Theology 3 (Christology and soteriology) was Life in the I loved its thoroughly biblical approach and thoroughly convincing case.

In the years that followed, I had many occasions to draw on the insights I had learned. Sometimes I sought to share Christ with a person who had once prayed a prayer but had not thought much about God since then. More often I saw friends and acquaintances, sometimes even friends who had once been colleagues in ministry, drift away and deconvert, becoming atheists, agnostics, or adherents to other, usually incompatible, religious traditions.

In some cases, people began with a wrong understanding of conversion to begin with. Christ saves us from rebellion against God. Instead of joining God’s side, however, and instead of a new life that begins now, some have imagined they were receiving a forever-settled ticket to heaven. But what would heaven be without intimacy with God, for whom we were made? The truncated gospel some people accept is not strong enough to keep them. Calvinists often stress the divine perspective: God foreknows who will ultimately not persevere, so from His standpoint they are not saved. There may be some truth in that (cf. 1John 2:19). Arminians stress the standpoint of human experience, which is what we time-bound humans have access to: someone may experience a new birth yet turn away from Christ (cf. Hebrews 6:4–6; 2Peter 2:21–22). Yet whatever our other different approaches, true Calvinists and Arminians, as well as most other Christian traditions, agree on this point: only those who persevere to the end still loyal to Jesus will be saved.

The need for perseverance surfaces repeatedly in Scripture, including throughout the New Testament. One may think of Jesus’ parable of the four soils (Mark 4:15–20) and warnings that those who deny Him will be denied before His Father (Matthew 10:33; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 12:9). All the Twelve disciples failed Him, but one did so terminally, never returning: “the son of destruction” (John 17:12 Branches that fail to remain in the vine are taken away and burned (John 15:6). Without perseverance, the initial efforts would be for naught (1Thessalonians 3:5). Turning from Christ to other means of salvation would entail being cut off from Christ and needing reconversion (Galatians 4:19; 5:4; for reconversion, cf. James 5:19–20). One could grieve the Spirit, who seals us for the day of salvation (Ephesians 4:30)—a serious offense (Isaiah 63:10).

The very heart of the message for new believers encourages them to remain in the faith despite hardships (Acts 14:22). Repeated warnings of, “if you continue” (John 8:31; 15:7; Romans 11:22; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 10:36; 2John 9; Jude 21), and of apostasy (Matthew 24:10–12; 2Thessalonians 2:3; 1Timothy 4:1; cf. 2Peter 2:1), seem too emphatic for mere theory. Paul himself was careful to avoid failing the test (1Corinthians 9:27; cf. 10:1–12), and he warned the Corinthians to check their own test status (2Corinthians 13:5). Only those who overcome, who hold fast what they have, will retain their crown and not have their names blotted from the book of life (Revelation 2:25; 3:5, 11). And that is not even to consider the emphatic warnings of Hebrews (Hebrews 3:12–13; 6:4–8; 10:25–31, 39; 12:17, 25).

Of course, members of some circles experience the other extreme, questioning whether they are saved if so much as an impure thought crosses their mind. They need to be reminded that we are saved by depending on the finished work of Christ, not by what we make ourselves. God is able to keep us (1Peter 1:5; Jude 24–25). Christ working in us conforms us to His image as we depend on Him. Growing and persevering further help to engender confidence that we will continue to mature and persevere (Philippians 1:5–7; Hebrews 6:9–10). Biblical warnings of the need to persevere are not meant to terrify the fainthearted but to give pause to the complacent, whose true hope is no longer in Christ.

In short, whoever has the Son, has life. Whoever does not have the Son, does not have life.

Craig Keener, Professor of New Testament

Asbury Theological Seminary

Preface

In the days of the apostles, explicit answers to essential questions of doctrine were available from men to whom our Lord had personally committed “the faith once delivered unto the saints.” Exact definitions of doctrine is today a more difficult problem. Definitions lie within the Scriptures; but what saith the Scripture? In some important areas of doctrine, sincere men disagree. We cannot appeal to “them that heard Him” for definitions beyond what the Scriptures now afford. Earnest inquiry into the meaning of the Scriptures is therefore imperative.

Few doctrines have been as much the occasion of controversy among evangelical Christians as the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. This book treats those of that doctrine, and it is therefore controversial. But controversy is not evil; it is the servant of truth. Only prejudice is evil and the enemy of understanding.

Many volumes have been written on the question of the security of believers. But perhaps there is yet room for others. This volume is sent forth in the conviction that it is the fulfillment, however imperfectly, of a task assigned an unworthy servant by the Spirit of grace and truth. It is, in a sense, the testimony of one whose study of the Scriptures led him to abandon a definition of doctrine he once cherished, and who sincerely hopes that his endeavor will encourage others to reexamine a doctrine of critical practical importance.

Some time we no longer shall know in part. The final word awaits the coming of Him, who is Alpha and Omega. Meanwhile, believing that to disagree with sincere men is not to dishonor them, and that truth is served by honest inquiry, let us press toward a fuller understanding of the holy Scriptures and a more accurate definition of saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Chapter 1: Life in the Son - Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance (4)

I am grateful to my beloved parents, the Reverend and Mrs. ErnestF. Shank, for their prayers and encouragement in my task; to my dear wife and children for their love and patience through many busy days; to the members of the Baptist Church of Louisburg—a small church, and dear—for their understanding and forbearance in the days when their pastor devoted many hours to his writing, and for their noble Berean spirit; to Mrs. Warren Scarbrough for her splendid work in typing the final manuscript; to Dr. WilliamW. Adams for graciously taking time to read the manuscript and to write an introduction, and to my dear friend, the Reverend Roe Matthews, for bringing the manuscript to his attention; to Mrs. Cecil Pitts for valuable assistance in reading the proofs; to other friends who aided in important ways; to the Central Bible Institute and Seminary, Springfield, Missouri, for generous library privileges; to publishers and other owners of copyrights who granted permission to quote; to Bible scholars of other days, from whose labors we continue to benefit; and above all, to Him whose grace has been sufficient and whose strength has been made perfect in weakness, without whom we can do nothing in His holy service. Jesus Christ be praised.

Robert Shank

Louisburg, Missouri

October 12, 1959

Introduction

WilliamW. Adams

We are deeply indebted to those people who, rooted firmly in tradition, are orthodox and regular. They are a necessary bulwark against fanatical rebels and reformers whose convictions are weak and unstable, whose interests are in what is new more than in what is true, and whose influence is negative and destructive. Fortunately, we have alert and intelligent watchmen, securely rooted in the historic faith, who are ever ready to analyze and to challenge every departure from traditional theology, belief, and custom. We are deeply indebted to such people, for they are our defense against the erosions of idle speculations and empty vagaries.

But we are equally indebted to responsible thinkers who dare to challenge tradition. They are the pioneers who explore new areas of truth, clarify concepts, enlarge vision, and enrich our store of knowledge by breaking the paralyzing grip of blind, uncritical enslavement to tradition. But for such men, no progress would be made toward a fuller comprehension of the truth.

Occasionally we come across a book that is loaded with dynamite, one that jars us awake and quickens all our cognitive powers. Life in the Son is that kind of book. Seldom is a book published that reflects such bold independence of thought, such freedom from the fetters of tradition, and such complete objectivity in the study of the Scriptures. It is a book to be reckoned with by all serious students of the Bible, and especially by all who teach or preach.

Mr. Shank has honored me in two ways. First, through a mutual friend, he extended to me the privilege of reading his manuscript before it went to press. Secondly, he asked me to write an introduction. For several reasons, I consented: First, it gives me opportunity to express publicly my everlasting gratitude to the author for writing one of the most arresting and disturbing books I have ever read.

Mr. Shank’s book gives me new faith and confidence in evangelical Christianity. New Testament Christianity possesses its own correctives and remedial resources. They are found in the Bible. In time, the Bible corrects most of the false, incomplete, and unbalanced interpretations of its content.

His book gives me new confidence in my own Baptist heritage. The local church is autonomous in fact, not merely in theory. Mr. Shank is pastor of a local Baptist church that certainly cannot be ignorant of his beliefs. Yet he remains free to challenge and to reject a basic doctrine that long has been traditional among Baptists. This proves anew that we have no hierarchy among us—no ecclesiastical lords who can command our conscience or deprive us of our liberty. Baptists believe and practice the basic biblical principle of the priesthood of believers. Each believer has the right of private interpretation; and certainly, each divinely called minister of the gospel has the right and the duty to interpret the Scriptures and to preach as he is led by the Holy Spirit, free from the coercion and restraints of men, free from all judgment save that of the Scripture itself. We are free men in a free society and therefore truly responsible before God. There are, unfortunately, “Baptists” who would silence all challenging and disturbing interpretations of Scripture by placing totalitarian, dictatorial, excommunicating hands on those who are responsible for them. The fact that they cannot do so proves both the reality and the significance of the autonomy of the local church and the priesthood of all believers.

Life in the Son offers a fresh, exacting, and comprehensive study of the Scriptures that concern the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, commonly defined as “once saved, always saved.” The author concludes that, when all pertinent Scriptures are carefully examined and fully considered, the doctrine must be rejected. For Baptists and many other evangelicals, this at once classifies his book as revolutionary.

There are certain people who should not read Life in the

People who have already decided what they intend to believe and who read only for confirmation of their present opinion. People who prefer to determine their doctrine from a few proof texts and ignore or wrest other passages bearing on a given theme. People who read the Bible with the conviction that they must be dogmatic and final on all matters of doctrine, leaving no place for humility and deferred judgment. People who read only to augment their comfort and tranquility. Pastors who never read except to gather material for next Sunday’s sermon.

There are certain people who should not read Life in the On the other hand, there are certain people who by all means should read it:

People whose first loyalty is to the Scriptures rather than to traditional interpretations and creeds. People who are ready to accept and follow the truth, whatever it is and wherever it leads. People who have the ability to read a book and accept part of its content without necessarily accepting the book in its entirety. People who are really disturbed over certain alarming trends and conditions in our churches and contemporary Christianity.

I wish it were in my power to place a copy of Life in the Son in the hands of every pastor, teacher, leader, and layman who sincerely loves the Bible, the Savior, the church, and the fullness of spiritual life. My only condition would be that they read it prayerfully, keeping their Bibles open as they read, and following the author’s comments as the starting point for a fresh, exhaustive, contextual, patient study of the passages that Mr. Shank discusses in his book. Such a study would produce some wholesome results:

It would teach us the wisdom of guarding against hasty and uncritical acceptance of tradition, regardless of its apparent sanctity, venerable age, or esteemed devotees.

It would cause us to fall on our knees in prayer, rather than to seek opportunities for public argument and debate, and to search the Bible as never before in an earnest quest for truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

It would lead us to face the causes of the “dead wood” on our church rolls and to inquire whether we have preached the full gospel of Christ and declared the whole counsel of God to those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.

It would compel us, in genuine humility, to reexamine some of our hermeneutical principles, to improve our methods of exegesis, and to sweep around our own theological doors before criticizing others and presuming to correct their interpretations of Scripture.

It would lead us to thank God for men like Mr. Shank, who are dedicated to God and truth, who possess intellectual and spiritual insight, and who have the pastoral concern and prophetic daring to speak for God even when it involves calling into question and rejecting one of the most venerable tenets of traditional theology in their denomination, at the risk of possibly having it later proved that they have retreated from one extreme position only to assume another.

Mr. Shank did not request that I endorse the thesis presented in his book. Had he done so, I should have been compelled at this time to refuse. Certainly no one should either accept or reject Mr. Shank’s thesis without reading his book several times and attempting to refute his interpretations from the Scriptures in the same sort of exhaustive and objective study that he has pursued. Whether this can be done remains to be demonstrated.

Mr. Shank asked only that I write an introduction to his book, and I count it a privilege to honor his request. I consider Life in the Son one of the most significant books in this generation. I consider it possible that the judgment of time may prove it to be one of the most important books ever written.

If Mr. Shank is right in his interpretations and thesis, it is of the utmost importance for time and eternity that we come to share his understanding of the Scriptures. If he is wrong, it remains for us to refute his thesis by demonstrating that we are better exegetes and interpreters of Scripture than he has proved himself to be. In any event, a critical reexamination of one of the historic tenets of our theology now becomes mandatory through the publishing of this book.

I feel that it is now in order for me to address myself to the author with respect to the kinds of responses his book will probably receive. Mr. Shank, unless human nature has recently and radically changed, there are some who will do their utmost to give your book the “silent” treatment. Some will be too learned to acknowledge that they have not known all there is to know on the subject. They will consider that their first obligation is to their personal academic reputation and professional interests. With great scholarly dignity, they will carefully ignore your book.

Some will loudly denounce your book merely because you dare to call into question some of their customary interpretations and to challenge their accustomed doctrinal position. They will label you a heretic or a novice. Let me urge you to ignore all criticisms of yourself, and all criticisms of your book that amount to mere general disapproval and denunciation. This will be the resort only of men who are incapable of presenting any serious reply to your interpretations and thesis. Negative criticisms that fail to demonstrate objectively that your interpretations are incorrect will not deserve serious consideration or serve the cause of truth.

Some will consider that “unity” is more important than truth and that, right or wrong, conformity to tradition and popular opinion is the only wise course. Men so easily become enslaved by a vested interest in the status and many will refuse to venture the risk of honestly searching for truth at the possible expense of comfort.

Some, thank God, will read your book with growing provocation and an insatiable hunger and determination to see the study through to a conclusion that is unquestionably biblical. They are the ones (I pray they may be many) who will profit from the reading of your book and from an honest effort to refute it. Whatever the ultimate verdict, their knowledge of the Scriptures will be increased, and their lives and Christian witness will be enriched because of your book.

Mr. Shank, there may be other responses to your book that neither you nor I can foresee. But this much is assured: all genuine scholars and searchers after truth will be compelled to take your book into consideration.

WilliamW. Adams

James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Louisville, Kentucky

June 19, 1959

ONE

By Grace, Through Faith

They had come together to consider a matter of grave importance. The church at Jerusalem, as elsewhere, was divided. There was a sect of the Pharisees who believed (Acts 15:5) and were insisting that believing in Jesus was good—as far as it went; but merely to trust in Christ and His saving grace was not enough. It was necessary that Gentile converts be circumcised and assume the obligations of the law of Moses.

Their arguments were persuasive. Was not their Savior a Jew? Had He not been circumcised? Had He not honored the law? True, He had scorned the vain traditions that men had imposed upon the law; but had He not honored the law itself? He came, He said, not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Indeed, only a few days before His death, He had reminded His disciples that “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you” (Matthew 23:1–3). Were His followers now to abandon Moses and the law?

The Judaizers had become a powerful faction in the church at Jerusalem. And their influence was spreading. They were sending their apologists everywhere, on the very heels of the apostles themselves, to ensure that Gentile converts should receive the full truth, and so be lacking in nothing and assuredly saved.

But there were many who were convinced that the Judaizers, despite their zeal, were misguided men. There was Paul, to whom the Lord had given no such instruction in the personal revelation of the gospel that He had given him and who, with Barnabas, had contended against the apostles of circumcision at Antioch (Acts 15:2). And there was Peter, whom the Lord had sent to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius at Caesarea, and who there had witnessed the salvation of all who heard and believed the Word of forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name, apart from any consideration of the law and its ordinances.

The dissension was sharp, and the issue was decisive, for the implications were fundamental. And so

The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15:6–11,

Thus, Peter gave his inspired definition of the way of salvation. God, said he, had purified the hearts of Cornelius and his companions by faith. And, even as those Gentiles, Peter and his fellow Jewish believers were to be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ by simple faith, quite apart from the law and fleshly ordinances.

Peter’s account of his experience at Caesarea fully agreed with Paul’s thesis at Antioch in Pisidia—the cardinal axiom of the gospel committed to him by the risen Christ: “Through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38–39,

This cardinal axiom of justification by faith alone, apart from works of the law, Paul later expounded at length in his epistles to the churches in Galatia and at Rome. Indeed, throughout the New Testament the axiom is stated so simply, so forcefully, and so frequently that one wonders at the success of some in our day in bringing multitudes into the bondage of legalism (cf. Galatians 2:4; 5:1). The explanation, however, is quite apparent. The success of twentieth-century legalists stems from the fact that their unscriptural doctrines appeal to a concept that is strongly rooted in the natural person: one dare not presume to trust God to save him in pure mercy and grace!

The idea of self-justification is deeply ingrained in humanity. Throughout human history, every false religion has been steeped in the principle of self-justification, including the many perversions of Christianity (with the exception of With what difficulty do people believe that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8,

The difficulty prevailed in the days of our Lord’s ministry in the flesh. People asked Him, “What may we be doing in order that we may be working the works of God?” Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that you continually be believing on Him whom that One sent off on a mission” (John 6:28–29, What shall we do?—how shall we work and win God’s favor? The answer is to be trusting in the Savior, whom He has sent!

Many seem quite unwilling to concede that salvation must be by grace. They do not wish to be saved in such an embarrassing manner. “When Lady Huntington invited the duch*ess of Buckingham to come and hear George Whitefield, the duch*ess answered: ‘It is monstrous to be told that you have a heart as sinful as the common wretches that crawl on the earth,—it is highly offensive and

As in Paul’s day, “the offense of the cross” is more than many can endure. The cross of Jesus is a reminder of man’s inability to free himself from the chains of his own spiritual depravity. As the symbol of the grace of God, it is equally the symbol of the guilt of man. The cross of Jesus demands that we confess that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, that “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10, that “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6, Well did Isaac Watts write:

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Accepting Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior from sin is a humbling experience. It requires the surrender of all confidence in one’s assumed goodness and in the supposed redemptive merit of all his best endeavors. But only thus can one be saved.

Someone has well said that we are saved, not through our attainment, but through His atonement. This seems a hard truth for many to accept. In his sermon “Christ’s Last Invitation from the Throne,” Alexander Maclaren said:

The one thing that Christ asks me to do is to trust my poor sinful self wholly and confidently and constantly and obediently to Him. That is all. Ah! All! And that is just where the pinch comes.... You will see men buy damnation dear who will not have salvation because it is a gift and they have nothing to do. I do believe that great multitudes of people would rather [have something to do] ... than simply be content to ... owe everything to Christ’s grace and nothing to their own

How many today vainly seek to establish their own righteousness and thus fail to receive the righteousness of God in Christ, through simple faith? Charles Hodge has well said: “The renunciation of a legal, self-righteous spirit is the first requisition of the gospel. This must be done, or the gospel cannot be accepted. ‘He who works,’ i.e., who trusts in his works, refuses to be saved by

But does not James declare that “faith without works is dead” and such “faith” cannot save? He does, indeed. But a careful examination of James’s discourse (2:14–26) discloses that in no way does it contradict the principle of justification by faith alone, which is everywhere taught in the Scriptures. Actually, it serves, not to establish works as a means of salvation, but to qualify the kind of faith that saves. A common teaching of Melanchthon and other Protestant Reformers was: It is faith, alone, which saves; but the faith that saves is not

Saving faith is a living faith in a living Savior, faith so vital it cannot avoid expression. Paul described it as a “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). Douglas Moo (2013: 331) writes: “with this clause Paul emphasizes that the two, while separate, are inseparable. The verse classically expresses Paul’s understanding of faith as an active and powerful quality, showing his close alignment with James on this point at least.”

Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do” (John 14:12). The “faith” of men who have no sincere intention of following in the steps of the Savior is something less than saving faith. The “faith” of men who have no real concern for the cause of the Gospel and the work of His Church is not the kind of faith in Christ that saves. “Faith” is dead that finds no expression in good works.

But even so, all “good works” are vain that are not the fruit of simple faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and enabled by the Holy Spirit. A barren faith is of no benefit; but it is still faith, not works, that saves.

The story is told of a mother who appeared before a general to plead for the life of her soldier-son who had been found asleep at his post. “Sir, I beg of you,” she implored, “have mercy on my son.” “But your son deserves to die,” replied the general. “Sir,” answered the mother, “I asked for mercy, not justice.”

When we kneel before the cross of Jesus, we humbly ask for mercy, not justice. There is no need to petition God for justice. His justice has been declared: “The person, the one sinning, will die” (Ezekiel 18:20, The Scriptures everywhere affirm that justice will be certain for every finally unrepentant person. “The wages of sin is death” That is justice. But thank God, there is mercy: “the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiah Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23,

Miethe (1988: 30) says antinomianism is:

The belief that being saved by grace rather than works frees Christians from moral obligations and principles.... There are two basic forms of antinomianism. The first is that the moral law plays no necessary part in bringing a sinner to repentance. Paul clearly rejects this view in Romans 7:7 and Galatians 3:24. The second form holds that though the moral law can and does lead one to repentance, it has no relevance to the life of the repentant believer afterward; the believer can then live as he chooses because he has been forgiven by God. This view is a rejection of God’s command to believers to live holy lives (1Peter 1:16), and is the form of antinomianism Paul rejects in Romans 6.

present subjunctive ... means continuous believing” (Lenski 1943: 455; cf. Stevens 1895: 228). Robertson 5:105) has “keep on believing” (cf. Horton 1965: 26). “The use of the present tense here suggests that Jesus meant a trust in him for salvation that is more than an isolated act of It is rather a life of (Turner & Mantey 1964: 160, emphasis added). So Barrett 1978: 287; cf. Westcott 1896: 101; Morris 1971: 360.

1909:

Maclaren, obtained at https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mac/revelation-22.html.

1873: 195.

2010: 122–123.

TWO

The High Cost of a Free Gift

The best things in life are free, according to the popular maxim. But what is more, life itself is free—life abundant and eternal. In his letter to the Romans, Paul speaks of justification, righteousness, and life as “the free gift” and “the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ” (5:15–18) and declares that while “the wages of sin is death ... the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Salvation is offered only as God’s free gift to men. It must be so received. This, many seem unable to understand.

An aged Muslim recently testified of his faith and hope in conversation with an American journalist. “Sir,” he said, “all my life I have obeyed the Koran and worshiped Allah faithfully. If, after death, I find that there is no paradise and there are no beautiful virgins with which a man may be comforted, as the Koran promises, I shall feel that I have been miserably cheated.”

There are countless “Christians” whose hope of attaining heaven rests upon their good life, their generous giving of their money, and their faithful attention to “religion.” All who propose to bargain with God for a place in His eternal heaven will be disappointed. The gifts of God are not for sale. To Simon of Samaria, who supposed that the gift of the fullness of the Spirit could be purchased with money, Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” (Acts 8:20).

Salvation is God’s gift to undeserving men. We have but to ask to receive. Jesus said to the woman of Sychar, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). The last invitation in the Bible is our risen Savior’s gracious appeal, “‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17, What good news for impoverished sinners!

Does salvation, then, cost nothing? Indeed, nothing in all the universe has cost so much. It cost the Word, who from the unbegun beginning was God and face-to-face as an equal in the Holy Trinity, the humiliation of exile from the throne room of the universe, the veiling of the glory and majesty that had been His, and the acceptance of an identification with humanity so complete that He must forever remain the Son of Man—a circ*mstance from which there can be no retreat in all eternity to come.

It cost the Father the sacrifice of His one and only Son, in whom He was well pleased, on Golgotha’s tree, where was “laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6, that He who was without sin “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1Peter 3:18).

It cost Jesus a shameful and excruciating death on a cross, where “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1Peter 2:24), and where He cried out in anguish: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

It cost the Holy Spirit an ages-long ministry of patiently wooing the stubborn hearts of sinful men in the call of the sweet Gospel of Christ, and of suffering long with men who treat Him ill—even some He owns as His. Not all the angels of heaven can declare the cost of the glorious salvation that God in grace offers as His free gift to undeserving sinners.

But though salvation is God’s gracious gift to spiritual paupers, the acceptance of the gift, like its provision, is costly. It costs the renunciation of self and of much that people hold dear. Paul, who gladly paid the cost, expressed it in such statements as, “I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20); “for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21); “indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him...” (Philippians 3:8–9). One cannot accept Christ and His salvation on lesser terms than the complete surrender of self to Him.

We pastors have confused the issue by such pulpit appeals as, “You have accepted Christ as your Savior; but have you really made Him the Lord of your life? Why not dedicate your life fully to Him?” Such appeals imply that the acceptance of Christ as Savior and as Lord are two entirely separate acts. Much to the contrary, they are inseparable aspects of a single act. Like repentance and faith, they are mutually involved; there cannot be one without the other. No man can accept Jesus as Savior of his soul without accepting Him as Lord of his life. Multitudes of “Christians” today seem quite unaware of this solemn fact. New Testament scholar David Garland writes,

I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion

The gospel of Christ, though a comforting message, is also a demanding message. Jesus warned His hearers that the cost of discipleship is dear. In Luke 14:25–35 is recorded an instance in His ministry that seems virtually to be ignored in this day of easy

“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple’” (14:25–27). Count the cost, warned Jesus, and be sure you intend to finish (vv. 28–30). Salt is good only as it retains its taste (vv. 34–35). The price of discipleship is high. “What king,” asked Jesus, “going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace” (vv. 31–32). The “terms of peace” granted by a king to a lesser king who dared not meet him in battle was total submission. The lesser king became his vassal, paying tribute, with himself and all his possessions subject to the command of his lord. So in the same way, Jesus demands that “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (v.33).

The lordship of Jesus over self, life, and possessions must be acknowledged if we are to know Him as Savior. All must be surrendered to Him who gave His all for us. He who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened” (Matthew 11:28, said also, “Take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29, We cannot find rest for our souls in Him unless we take His yoke upon us.

Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach “repentance for the forgiveness of sins ... in his name” (Luke 24:47, There is no forgiveness apart from repentance. And repentance involves the whole of It is concerned not merely with sorrow for the past, but even more with our intention for the future. It is the abandoning of our own selfish way to go God’s way in humble obedience.

“Just accept Christ and be saved” is the appeal of many. But receiving Jesus Christ as Savior is not a matter of “just” accepting Him—“no strings attached.” We cannot accept Christ as Savior apart from a definite change of mind, heart, and will involving the whole of life and all our affections and intentions. There must be full surrender to the lordship of Christ, a sincere acceptance of His yoke.

Thank God, a dying thief with nothing to offer but a confession of need and a plea for mercy can receive forgiveness and the saving grace of God in Christ. But they err who presume to be saved “just like the dying thief”—nothing to be said about “deny self... take up your cross daily... follow me... keep my commandments...” Only a dying man can be saved “just like the dying thief.” This does not mean that God has different plans of salvation for different people, according to their circ*mstances. It means only that, at whatever point in life one comes to Christ for salvation, the whole of life from that point onward is necessarily involved in his decision and must be surrendered to the lordship of the Savior. Had the thief on the cross met Jesus in the midst of life rather than as a man at the gates of death, he would have been confronted with the grave demands of Jesus that He frequently declared as the irreducible terms of discipleship for all who would know and follow Him. There can be no reception of Christ as Savior apart from a full commitment of oneself to Him. Salvation costs men nothing... and everything.

The Christian, to be sure, begins his new life in Christ as a babe. He needs time and nurture for development. He has much to learn in his new life. He lacks understanding and may stumble frequently, displaying spiritual immaturity in many ways. But the windows of his heart will be open toward the Son of Righteousness, and the basic orientation of his life will be toward God. He will acknowledge, however imperfectly, the lordship of Christ over his heart and life.

A long lifetime will not suffice to teach us all that is involved in true discipleship. But though at best our devotion and obedience will be quite imperfect, they nevertheless must be real and sincere if Jesus is to be our personal Savior. Solemn, indeed, are the words of Jesus: “No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:13–14, “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments,” declares John, “is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1John 2:4). Submission to the lordship of Jesus is not optional for those who would know Him as Savior.

It costs to follow Jesus. The emblem of our faith is the cross. There was one for Jesus. There was one for Peter. There is one, too, for everyone who would follow Jesus.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me [better—“keep on following me,” For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34–38)

Jesus’ costly and demanding message entails:

(1) Denying “the self and all self-promoting ambitions,” and humbly learning to affirm as Jesus did: “Not my will but thine be

(2) Picking up a cross, which communicates “danger and sacrifice. Public executions were a prominent feature of life.... The Romans made the condemned carry the transverse beam of the cross to the place of execution, where they affixed it to the execution stake. By requiring disciples to carry their cross, Jesus expects them to ... be ready to deny themselves even to the point of giving their

(3) Following Jesus and “his example” of living in complete obedience to the Father’s will in giving one’s life in self-giving love for the sake of others (see Mark 8:31–33). Disciples of Jesus “must obey his teaching, including what he says about giving their lives.” “If we give up our lives for his sake and the gospel, we will be given the only life that counts, life from

However, in verse 38, Jesus “warns disciples not to retreat from his present shame in the eyes of this world as the crucified Messiah. They must side with him now in his suffering and humiliation, or they will not be at his side in the glorious age to

The gift of salvation is costly. It cost God more than heaven can declare. It cost Jesus His life on the cross. It costs everyone who receives it the total submission of self in the acceptance of the rightful claims of Jesus on the lives and souls of all who would follow Him for time and eternity.

1996: 332. Victor Kuligin comments:

With the rise of the health-and-wealth gospel and prosperity preaching, we have become accustomed to a comfortable, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” Messiah. It is a picture of Jesus I call “Jesus-lite.” Great taste, less demanding. Jesus is just interested in my happiness and nothing more.... The reason so many Christians and churches have found “Jesus-lite” so appealing is because the world finds it so appealing. Declaring a warm, fuzzy Savior is not a problem; you will get less opposition from the world on that score. Declaring that this Savior demands to be Lord is where the problem lies.... Much of modern Christianity has a love affair with “Jesus-lite.” The rigorous demands of Christ are washed away in a sea of prosperity and privilege. Suffering for Jesus is to be avoided at all costs... (2006: 11, 141, 282).

Robert Picirilli’s, Discipleship: The Expression of Saving for an excellent biblical discussion on discipleship.

an outstanding biblical and theological discussion on repentance in the Old Testament and New Testament, see Mark Boda, “Return to Me”: A Biblical Theology of

be following Jesus (the present tense of the Greek imperative implies a way of life) involves denying oneself and taking up the cross” (Picirilli 2003: 233). So Stein 2008: 407. Cf. “be following Me.” “follow me continuously.” The present-tense imperative stresses “the importance of a persistent faithfulness to Jesus.... The follower of Jesus must keep on (Joel Williams 2020: 147, emphasis added).

1996: 327.

1996: 328.

1996: 328. “In 8:34–38, Jesus makes following him a condition of ultimate salvation in his coming kingdom” (Colijn 1998: 16).

1996: 328. Sharyn Dowd (2000: 88) rightly states that Jesus’ words in 8:38 are a warning to “the disciples and the audience” who “must decide whether to continue to follow [Jesus] ... whose way leads to a shameful death,” or face “the ultimate shame of apostasy” on Judgment Day.

THREE

Life in the Son

It is said that in World War II, a Marine Corps sergeant led his men into action on a precarious beachhead on a Pacific island with the bold challenge, “Come on, men! Do you want to live forever?” The universal answer of mankind is, Yes, we would live forever! The ancient query, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” has been in the hearts, if not on the lips, of all men in every generation. And it is such a life—abundant and eternal—that God in grace desires to bestow upon people. “And the testimony is this,” writes John, “that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1John 5:11,

What is this “eternal life” that God has given to men in His Son? It is something other than mere endless existence. There is no necessity for God to act to bestow endless existence upon men; for from creation, immortality in the sense of endless existence is an inalienable endowment of mankind. The Bible affirms the endless existence of every human being, whether saved or lost. “Eternal life,” then, is a particular quality of life that emanates from the eternal God, rather than a mere extension of existence. For man, it is the reception and enjoyment of the essential life of God Himself through Christ, the channel, by the Holy Spirit, the agent. Life eternal “means the life of the age to come, resurrection life, which believers in Christ enjoy in advance because of their union with one who is already risen from the Eternal life is a gracious participation in the very life of the eternal God. “It is more than endless [existence], for it is sharing in the life of God in Christ (5:26; 17:3; 1John

There is, of course, a sense in which all men, whether saved or lost, derive life from God, who “gives life to all things” (1Timothy 6:13) and is the Source and Ground of our very existence. “In him we live and move and have our being,” as Paul declared to the pagan Athenians (Acts 17:28). But the life in which fallen men participate is devoid of the essential spiritual quality of the infinite life of the Person of God. The life experienced by men “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), and “alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18), is not at all that “eternal life” that God offers men in union with Jesus Christ, His Son.

For the fulfillment of His eternal purposes, God created man in His own image—having a moral intelligence with the faculty of spiritual initiative and volition, a spirit-being with the capacity for knowing his Creator and sharing His life in all its fullness. To provide occasion for the exercise of man’s moral and spiritual faculty and to afford him opportunity for worship and faith toward his Creator, God confronted man with a simple, but essential, moral test. To Adam in Eden, He said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16–17).

The simple test presented a direct challenge to Adam’s faith. He knew nothing of death from experience or observation, and the fact of death could be grasped only by faith. Acceptance of the reality of death as an actual peril, solely on the word of his Creator, was tantamount to exercising faith in God Himself as the Source of his very life. Thus, through faith, Adam avoided death and participated in the eternal life of God. As long as he continued in obedient faith, he continued in eternal life.

From the beginning of human history, it has been true that “the righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11; cf. Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38). This cardinal principle, enunciated by Habakkuk and repeated in the New Testament, has governed the personal relation of individual men to God in all generations. Although it has had various modes of expression in different ages and under varying circ*mstances, the principle itself has been constant and fundamental from the creation of man. It governed the spiritual relation of Adam to God in Eden. God had warned Adam that the penalty for transgression was death. “For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). And thus, it occurred:

When Adam sinned, death came at once; but so far as the body was concerned, its complete severing from the soul required more than nine hundred years. But the soul died at once, died suddenly; the bond with the Holy Spirit was severed, and only its raveling threads [remained] active in the feelings of

Though plunged by sin into spiritual death and deprived of the eternal life of his Creator in which he had participated by faith, Adam was not abandoned to everlasting despair. “It is noticed by Tertullian, that though God punished Adam and Eve, He did not curse them, as He did the Serpent, they being candidates for God immediately promised the coming of a Redeemer, “the seed” or “offspring of the woman” (Genesis 3:15), who would crush the head of the Serpent.

It is evident from the Scriptures (Genesis 3:21; 4:4; Hebrews 11:4) that God also instituted the ordinance of animal sacrifice in Eden. It was “by faith,” not good fortune, that Abel offered to God an acceptable sacrifice. As “faith comes by hearing,” it is evident that God instituted animal sacrifice as an ordinance to be observed by men, and that He did so prior to Abel’s act of faith. The ordinance served as a representation of the “one sacrifice for sins for ever” ultimately to be provided through “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10–14). It offered sinners a means whereby they might approach a righteous God in repentance and faith, commune with Him, and know His forgiveness and gracious salvation.

We need not infer that every person who offered an animal sacrifice was fully aware of the prophetic significance of the ordinance. Indeed, the apostles themselves failed to associate the ordinance with the approaching death of Jesus, the purpose and significance of which they failed to perceive until after His resurrection. But men’s failure to comprehend the prophetic significance of the ordinance of animal sacrifice did not impair its validity in the sight of God.

The offering of every sacrifice was an object lesson proclaiming the principle of vicarious sacrifice and substitutionary atonement. That much, at least, men could understand and appreciate. Man’s offering of the appointed sacrifice constituted a confession of his sin and need for cleansing and redemption. It was an expression of his faith in God and a petition for grace and forgiveness. Although the offering of animal sacrifices did not “make perfect those who draw near” (Hebrews 10:1), God nevertheless was pleased with the faith of the worshipers, as expressed in the act of sacrifice, and so imputed to them that righteousness that was to be imparted to all believers of all ages through the once-for-all offering of Christ—as yet to be accomplished, but eternal in the purpose of God.

The reconciliation of man to God and his restoration to participation in the eternal life of his Creator required no less than a perfect and complete cleansing of all his sin. This, animal sacrifices could not accomplish. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). But a Redeemer “appeared... to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26) and to offer for the redemption of sinners His own precious blood, “a lamb without blemish or spot” (1Peter 1:19).

The penalty for sin is death, both spiritual and physical. That penalty Jesus paid in full, at dreadful cost to Himself. We cannot imagine the physical pain of crucifixion. But fearful as it was, it did not mark the true measure of “the cup” of His agony. The darkness that covered the land from the sixth hour to the ninth, while Jesus suffered on the cross, was symbolic of the spiritual desolation and death that came upon our holy Savior when God the Father “laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6), and “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Corinthians 5:21). His soul was made “an offering for guilt,” or sin, and He “poured out his soul to death” (Isaiah 53:10, 12). Out of the abyss of spiritual desolation and death came His wretched, anguished cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Gone was the gracious rapport of the earlier hours on the cross when He could say, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). No longer was it “Father,” but rather, “My He was alone, and He “poured out his soul to death.”

“It is finished!” (John 19:30). Our Savior’s triumphant cry marked the completion of the offering of His soul for sin. He had drained the bitter cup of its last vile remains. The angry venom of sin was spent. Gone forever was the dreadful gulf imposed by sin. Once again, He knew the Father’s gracious presence: “Father, into your hands...” (Luke 23:46). Bowing His head, He dismissed His spirit, and the body in which He had borne our sins on the tree became the prey of death. The full penalty for sin had been paid.

In the life and death of Jesus, the holiness of God and His righteous law have been vindicated, and divine justice has been forever satisfied. In the cross of Christ, wrath and grace have met. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” at the cross of Him who is our peace (Psalm 85:10, God now can be “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26, Atonement has been wrought in Christ—an objective atonement efficacious for all who trust in Him.

Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all” (1Timothy 2:6), and His “one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18). For “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2Corinthians 5:19). But what has been provided for all mankind must be appropriated; what is objective must become subjective. “Therefore,” Paul implores, “be reconciled to God” (v.20). Personal reconciliation to God in Christ is actual for individual men only as they trust in Him. It is ever true that “the righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11).

Men who do not participate by faith in the redemption in Christ are “dead in trespasses and sins” and “alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 2:1; 4:18, But such men still bear the image of God (though marred by sin) and still retain the capacity for participation in the life of their Creator. They are the objects of the infinite love of God, who longs to share with them His own eternal life, through a faith-union with His Son.

“And the testimony is this,” writes John, “that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1John 5:11–12, Jesus said of all who hear and follow Him, “I give them eternal life” (John 10:28). But the gift of eternal life can neither be received nor possessed apart from the Giver, who said of Himself, “I am the way ... and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). To have Him is to have life, for “Christ is our life” (Colossians Kuyper writes:

It is true that in the soul of the regenerated there is a vital principle, but the source of its energy is outside of ourselves in Christ. There is indwelling, but not interpermeation. The dweller and his house are distinct. Hence in the regenerated man life is extraneous, its seat is not in himself.... The regenerated child of God receives life directly from Christ, who is outside of him at the right hand of God, through the channels of faith. 6

Although He is bodily at the right hand of the Father in heaven, Christ yet dwells in our hearts by faith, spiritually (Ephesians 3:17). His gracious promise and invitation is, “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4). His indwelling presence in all who abide in Him is, itself, the bestowal of life. Life is in the Son—a life-giving union with Him.

It is equally true that “the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1John 5:12, There is no eternal life for men apart from Him. Our Savior’s gracious invitation is, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ... Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (John 7:37, Revelation 22:17, But most men who hear the Gospel invitation to eternal life somehow decline to accept. Like the men invited to the great supper (Luke 14:16–24), they have other interests. Many, aware of a desperate hunger of heart and soul, seem unwilling to believe that Christ alone can satisfy. They are not willing to come to Him to receive life (John 5:40). They spend their days and strength carefully gathering to themselves all the little fads and devices that flatter the flesh and leave the soul in despair.

Sometime ago, the body of a prospector who evidently had died of thirst was found in a desert in California. He had died clutching a bag of copper pyrites, “fool’s gold.” In his pocket was a piece of paper on which he had written, “I died rich.” Millions there are who clasp to themselves a bag of fool’s gold for which they spend their lives unto death—to awake miserable paupers in hell!

We who know Christ as Savior and Lord may well ask, Have we failed to demonstrate convincingly that we have found One who satisfies the deepest longings and meets every need of all who trust in Him? Friend in Christ, except our witness for our Savior be winsome and convincing, the lost around us will not come to know Him who said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

1983: 89. So Carson 1990: 202. See David Hill 1967: 163–201 Words and Hebrew Meanings: Studies in the Semantics of Soteriological for a thorough discussion of “life” and “life eternal” (i.e., “life of the Age to come”).

WP 5:50. Harry Jessop (1953: 17) writes:

But what is eternal life? Some there are who speak of it as though thinking almost entirely in terms of which must last for ever, and consequently, no matter what they do, something which, once having been received, can never be lost. Such a conception is surely both elementary and superficial. Eternal life has to do first of all with the fact of It is the life of the Eternal, imparted by the Eternal Himself to those who will receive it. Nor is eternal life, when it is bestowed, the unconditional possession of its recipient. It is a present possession perpetually sustained always and only on the basis of obedient faith. It centers ... in an ever present, living Person, Christ Himself. Related to Him as our ever present Saviour, we have eternal life.

“Thus, ‘eternal’ life does not mean mere existence, but union and communion with God, and it is concerned not so much with duration, or indeed with duration at all, so much as with quality, though, of course, duration is naturally involved” (W. Thomas 1881: 314). Duration is involved in that it is the eternal God who is giving eternal life to those trusting in God’s eternal Son and thereby are in union with Him who is the source of life eternal (1 John 5:10–13).

1900: 281.

1873: 46.

Griffith Thomas (1881: 143) said “‘eternal life’ is union and communion with God. This is what Paul meant when he spoke of Christ as ‘our life’ (Col. 3:4).”

1900: 279.

FOUR

Saving Faith (Part 1)

There is a solemn finality about the words of John: “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1John 5:11–12,

What are the conditions whereby humans may have the Son of God and life in Him? Believers of the Scriptures generally agree: “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21, But not everyone agrees as to the essential circ*mstance of repentance and saving faith. Many believe that saving faith is the act of a moment—one great moment in which the sinner humbly acknowledges his sin in repentance toward God and accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. They believe that one grand and holy moment of decision ushers a person into an irrevocable state of grace in which he or she is unconditionally But others are persuaded that the moment of holy decision is but the beginning, and that the state of grace is not irrevocable in our present earthly sojourn in God’s moral universe, in which “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans They are persuaded that saving faith is not simply the act of a moment, but the attitude of a life; the initial decision must be perpetually implemented throughout the life of the and such is not Who is right? Serious arguments have been advanced by able advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security, arguments that demand answers from those who refuse to embrace their doctrine.

Many devout Christians and Bible scholars sincerely believe it is the teaching of the Scriptures that, once a person receives Jesus by faith, his status as a child of God is irrevocable. “Once saved, always saved”—despite any and all eventualities. Without doubt, many of God’s noblest saints are of such persuasion. But the question before us is not, “Who believes what?” The question of sole concern is “What does the Scripture say?” Let it be remembered as we proceed in the development of our thesis in the next two chapters that to disagree with good men and women is not to dishonor them.

A popular argument of advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security, an argument from reason, is couched in the question, “If eternal life can be terminated, how then is it Such a question proceeds from a fundamental misapprehension. It rests upon the erroneous assumption that, at conversion, God somehow implants a bit of eternal life within the soul of the individual in such a way that it becomes his inalienable personal possession apart from the Giver of Certainly, eternal life is But the Bible declares that eternal life—the very life of the eternal God—can only be shared with Eternal life cannot be possessed by men apart from a living faith-union with Christ, in and through whom that life is available to

Paul declares that “Christ ... is our life” (Colossians 3:4a, that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans that he is “an apostle ... by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus” (2Timothy and that he is “enduring all things for the sake of the chosen ones, in order that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2Timothy 2:10, Eternal life and salvation are only experienced in union with Christ by faith/trust, and as we will see shortly, it is a living and active faith/trust that keeps us united to Christ, who is our life. The Baptist minister Alexander Maclaren has well said:

Union with Christ by faith is the condition of a real communication of life. “In Him was life,” says John’s Gospel. ... No man can breathe into another’s nostrils the breath of life. But Christ can and does breathe His life into us; and this true miracle of a communication of spiritual life takes place in every man who humbly trusts himself to

Maclaren’s thesis is fully substantiated in the holy Scriptures, and particularly in the gospel of John. But before considering the Scriptural evidence, Gerald Hawthorne, writing on the “The Concept of Faith in the Fourth says “it is significant to observe” that John “never once” uses “the noun form for faith but instead uses “some form of the verb” pisteuō ... 98 John prefers to use present-tense verbs that convey a “linear concept of Does this information

not imply on the very surface that there is a dynamic quality to John’s concept of faith that could never be adequately expressed by a noun, and could be best set forth only by those tenses of linear Is there not here a hint, at least, that faith was not to be thought of as merely an event (past) but as a continuing attitude throughout

We find more than a “hint” that saving faith is to be a continuing attitude throughout life, and that such faith unites the believer to God the Father and His Son in a life-giving and saving relationship. Consider the following passages:

“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him.” (John 3:14–15,

The word “believes” (Greek: is literally translated as “believing” or in translations that provide both the Greek text and its English equivalent to its Frederick Dale Bruner says, “the verb is put in the living present-tense participle form [in Greek] (the ‘-ing’ terminals in English capture the participial Greek scholars and commentators tell us that when believing is in this present-tense participle form, we are dealing with or “ongoing

Many commentators note that here “in Him” more than likely goes with “will have eternal That is, the person believing [in the Son of Man lifted up on the cross] will have eternal life in union or connection with The famous Southern Baptist Greek scholar A.T. Robertson (1863–1934) points out a significant insight about the verb “have” here that is missed in our English translations. In the Greek, it is a present-tense which he translates as “keep on having eternal Thus, we could legitimately translate this verse as: “everyone who continues believing will keep on having eternal life in union with Him.”

With a little help from Greek scholars and commentators, the average person can recognize that one’s present possession of eternal life in union with the Son is inseparably connected with an ongoing trust in

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes [lit. ‘everyone believing,’ in will not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16,

Alan Stanley observes:

The most well-known verse in the entire Bible is undoubtedly John 3:16.... Yet while it is well-known, it may well be the least understood. Most probably think this verse is expressing the need for a simple confession of faith in Jesus to receive eternal life, that thus we believe once and have eternal life.

Virtually all commentators on John’s Gospel, though, would agree that in keeping with the Greek present tense and John’s theology, John 3:16 in fact means, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever continues to believe in him shall not perish but have eternal

As in 3:15, the verb “have” here is in the present tense, emphasizing a “continual Note that this corresponds precisely with the [Greek present tense participle] Thus, it is everyone who “continues believing in him” who “shall not perish but continues having eternal The present possession of “eternal life is dependent upon the continuance of faith” in God’s

Craig Keener (2003: 1:570) remarks: “Modern readers of 3:15–16 who assume that it rewards passive faith with eternal life, apart from perseverance [in faith], read these verses in accordance with a very modern theological understanding that is utterly foreign to their Johannine

“The one believing in the Son eternal life. But the one the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36,

“The one who believes (present tense, to in the Son has eternal life as a present

“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives‐life‐to them, so also the Son gives‐life‐to the ones whom He wishes.... Truly, truly, I say to you that the one hearing My word and believing the One having sent Me has eternal life. And he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.... For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He gave to the Son to have life in Himself.” (John 5:21, 24, 26,

Stanley Horton says, “It is especially significant that the Father had given to Jesus to have life in Himself in exactly the same way that the Father has life in Himself; that is, by nature, and as a source.... We never have eternal life in ourselves by our own right and nature. We have it only in Donald Stamps writes:

The verbs “hears” ... and “believes” ... are present participles, emphasizing ongoing action (i.e., “whoever is hearing and Thus, the “hearing” and “believing” are not acts of a single moment, but actions that must continue. Christ affirms that our present possession of eternal life is conditional on a present living faith rather than on a momentary decision of faith sometime in the

“For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees [lit. ‘seeing,’ the Son and believes [‘believing,’ in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40,

“Both of these actions [‘seeing and believing’] are present participles, implying ongoing It is those who keep on trusting in the Son who “keep on having eternal

“Truly, truly, I say to you—the one eternal life.” (John 6:47,

Robert Mounce writes that the present participle regarding believing “stresses the continuing necessity of Thus, “Faith is not a onetime event ... but an ongoing trust in God that transforms the life and conduct of the believer in the here and now. Everlasting life belongs to those who are allowing faith to become the controlling factor of their

“I am the bread of life.... The one eating My flesh and drinking My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.... The one eating My flesh and drinking My blood in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me forth, and I live because of the Father, indeed the one Me—that one also will because of Me.... The one eating this bread will live (John 6:48, 54, 56–57, 58b,

Most commentators see this “eating and drinking” as metaphorical language for believing/trusting in Lenski says this “eating and drinking, like believing, is a receiving of the most ... vital kind. As eating and drinking receive food to be assimilated in the body, so believing receives Christ with the atonement made through his sacrificial flesh and Robertson notes the verb for “eating” in verse 54 is a “present active participle for continual or habitual The identical verbs are found in verse 56, and Robert Mounce writes: “Note here that the eating and drinking is put in the present tense, which stresses its continuing quality. Those who make it a practice of eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Jesus sustain that personal

This continual eating and drinking (believing) results in a continual “having of life eternal” (Wuest) and a “continual or in It is important to note that when abiding/remaining “is used with the preposition ‘in’ [Greek: and a personal object, it ... assumes the most intimate union Thus, a person who continues partaking of Jesus by faith continues remaining in a life-giving union with Him who “is the bread that gives life both now and in the resurrection at the last

“I the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will the light of life” [i.e., the light that gives (John 8:12,

It should not be overlooked that “The one who follows Me” is literally translated from the Greek as “the [one] following This following is a present-tense participle, like we saw with believing earlier, and conveys “the idea of continual Jesus is not referring to a literal or physical following here, but to a figurative following that “implies a trustful and hopeful cleaving to Him, following His guidance” (Cremer

In the gospel of John, following Jesus is a parallel expression to trusting in This is obvious when the same promises made to the ones following Jesus in John 8:12 have the light that gives [eternal] life and will not walk in and 10:27–28 eternal life and will not are made to the ones trusting in Jesus:

“everyone trusting in Him shall not perish, but shall be having eternal life.” (John 3:16b, following

“I have come as a light into the world, in order that everyone who is trusting would not remain in the darkness.” (John 12:46,

Lenski (1943: 597) rightly observes: “To follow Jesus is to believe and trust him” and to “‘have life’ in the unio mystica [i.e., in mystical union with Him].” Conceptually, the word following cannot refer to a one-and-done momentary act, but necessarily refers to a way of life and further confirms that saving faith must be an attitude of a life.

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one believing in Me—even though he dies, he will And everyone living and in Me will never ever.” (John 11:25–26,

The possession [of true life, is obtained by connection with Jesus. The connection is spiritual, by the confidence and trust in the soul which clings to Jesus who is all that he says. The present participles [for living and are durative [i.e., ongoing] qualifications.... It is impossible that any believer should ever ... lose what Jesus here guarantees. Only by turning from faith are these promises

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1–3,

After Jesus announced that one of His disciples would betray Him (13:21), and He was going away and they could not follow Him now (13:33–36), and predicted Peter’s thrice denial (13:38), these words were needed to settle His disciples’ troubled hearts. We agree with Laney, who notes:

The imperative is probably intended in both occurrences of pisteuō [“trust,” in The thrust of the commands would be, “Keep on trusting in God and in Me, His Jesus was simply exhorting the disciples to “keep the Continued trust in the Father and Son is a divine antidote to discouragement and

Continued trust in the Father and the Son is also necessary for the disciples to remain relationally connected to the Father and the Son that assures them of being with Jesus in the Father’s house prepared for them upon His

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31,

Here the appropriately translates the Greek present-tense participle pisteuō as “believing,” which Robertson translates as “continuing to Unfortunately, the NIV fails to bring out the Greek present-tense verb for “have” which Robertson helpfully translates as “may keep on Stanley Horton recognizes these present-tense verbs and states that it is only “those who keep on believing [who] may keep on having eternal life in His

Like the phrase “in him” in John 3:15, “in his name” “goes with the possession of eternal life, not with the act of Lenski states, “The preposition ‘in’] should be left in its native sense: in vital connection with, his W.H. Griffith Thomas agrees:

The sphere in which life becomes ours and is enjoyed by us is found in the words “in His name.” ... The name stands ... for the revealed character and will of God in Christ. Thus, to have life in His name is to have it in union with what we know of Him and of His manifested character and revealed will. Life is thus “in Christ” and not outside or apart from

The one believing in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. The one not believing God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony which God has testified about His Son. And this is the testimony: that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His The one having the Son has the The one not having the Son of God does not have the life. I wrote these things to you, the ones believing in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. (1John 5:10–13,

Hiebert notes that the Greek present-tense participle for the one believing in verse 10 “portrays the individual as exercising a continuing faith centered on the Son of and in verse 13, it “designates a definite group characterized by a living faith uniting them with the Son of In addition, “The positive and negative statements in verse 12 stress that eternal life is inseparably related to God’s Son and personally obtained only in union with The present-tense verbs for having the Son and has “mark this possession of life as a present reality. It is only through this close and living union between Christ and the believer that eternal life can be

The consistent testimony of Scripture is unmistakable: one’s present possession of eternal life is only experienced and sustained in a living union with a living Savior through a living There can be no question whether eternal life will endure. It cannot cease, since the God who gives life is eternal. But the point of many solemn warnings in the New Testament is that our privilege of participating in that eternal life is directly dependent on our continuing to remain in Him in whom, alone, that life is available to men. If we fail to remain in union with Him (John 15:6), the eternal life continues; but our participation in that life We share that life only as we continue to remain in a faith-union with Him, “who is our

Sperry Chafer (1871–1952) was of this opinion. In his book Salvation (originally published in 1917), he responds to a common question raised about the certainty of eternal security:

1. What if a believer’s faith should fail?

Faith, it may be answered, is not meritorious. We are not saved because we possess the saving virtue of faith. We are saved through faith, and because of the grace of God. Incidentally faith is the only possible response of the heart to that grace. Saving faith is an act: not an attitude. Its work is accomplished when its object has been gained. (Chafer 1922: 112)

R.T. Kendall holds that once truly believes that Jesus was raised from the dead, and confesses Jesus as Lord, will go to heaven when he (2005: 1, italics is his). Later he asserts, one need have it [i.e., faith] but once” in order to be assured of going to heaven (2005: 4). After this one moment of faith and confession “There is nothing more required, insofar as assurance of heaven is concerned” (2005: 25).

Osborne 2004: 43–44 notes:

But an important issue is identification of the word that by faith modifies: does it refer to the noun one who is righteous through faith will live; so Nygren 1949; Barrett 1957; Bruce 1985, Cranfield 1975; Stott 1994; Moo 1996) or to the verb one who is righteous will live by faith; so Godet 1969; Sanday and Headlam 1902; Michel 1966; Murray 1968; Schreiner 1998)? Or should we see here a deliberate ambiguity and a thrust in both directions (Dunn 1988a)? In the immediate context the connection between righteous and faith is so great that it seems likely that by faith modifies the noun, but yet we must remember that Paul is being deliberately ambiguous, so the double meaning is viable. Paul would be saying that those whose righteousness is expressed in faith (i.e., absolute trust in God, not just lives of faithfulness) will truly find life. In other words, they live by faith and therefore find life. There is also double meaning in live: both life now and eternal life, i.e., salvation now as well as final salvation.

M. Hunter (1954: 33) wrote: “[Faith] is at once an act (Rom. 10:9) and an attitude of life (Gal. 2:20). It is not merely to say once, ‘I believe in Christ’; it is to go on believing and living that. ‘The life I now live in the flesh,’ said Paul, ‘I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.’” “To be a Christian means to persevere in the faith till the end. It is not expected of the Christian that he merely engage in individual acts of faith; rather his whole life is to be a life of faith” (Schneider 1957: 128). “Salvation, while in its initial stages made real in the soul through an act of is maintained within the soul by a life of manifested in faithfulness” (Jessop 1942: 56).

the gifts bestowed on humanity by God entail an obligation to ‘keep faith’ with the giver. Faith thus involves not only a trust and belief in God as the giver but also faithfulness to him. It is thus possible to ‘break faith’ with God, which would nullify the relationship” (Schenck 2003: 65).

such an argument see Edwin Palmer, The Five Points of 72–73.

is eternal precisely because it comes from the God who is eternal, the God who lives.... [Thus] it is implied that those who have eternal life share in something that characterizes and comes from God alone. They share in God’s own life.... Eternal life is not something that one has as a gift apart from God, the Giver” (M. Thompson 1989: 40, 47).

of unconditional eternal security] work with the false assumption that the adjective ‘eternal’ is an adverb, as if it says the brother eternally has life. It is the life that is eternal, not one’s possession of it. Eternal life is the life of God in Christ the Son of God, and this life is lost when one departs from Christ” (Moody 1981: 356).

spiritually to Christ, he is in us, and we in him, i.e., in a living connection by which he, the Life, fills us with spiritual, eternal life” (Lenski 1937: 155). “Christ is the life of all those who are united to him by faith, members of his body” (Bruce 1984: 136). “Christ is personally Himself that life, and we possess it [i.e., ‘life’] only by union with Him and His resurrection” (Alford 1897: 232).

Greek preposition en is translated into English as “in.” This preposition is used frequently by Paul with “the phrases [‘in Christ, in Christ Jesus, in the Lord’],” which in certain contexts refer to the believer being

ingrafted as it were in Christ, in fellowship and union with Christ, with the Ro. 3:24; 6:11, 23; 8:39; 1 Co. 1:4; 2 Co. 3:14; Gal. 2:4; 3:14, 26, 28; 5:6; Eph 1:3; 2:6[ff.], 10, 13; 1 Tim. 1:14; 2 Tim. 1:1, 13; 2:1; 1Peter 3:16; 5:10; en steadfast in (the) Lord], Phil. 4:1; ... that I may be found (by God and Christ) most intimately united to him, Phil. 3:9; ... 1 Co. 1:30; ... Ro. 8:1; 1Peter 5:14; ... to fall asleep, to die, mindful of relationship to Christ and confiding in it, 1 Co. 15:18; Rev. 14:13. Since such union with Christ is the basis on which actions and virtues rest, the expression is equivalent in meaning to by virtue of spiritual fellowship or union with ... (Thayer 211)

the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiah Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, “God’s gift of eternal life is not only through Christ, but is in Christ as its abiding source, and can only be enjoyed in union with Him” (Gifford 1886: 133). Cf. Alford 1899: 369, 374.

an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in accordance with the promise of the life that comes through union with Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:1, Williams). This “promise [of life] is based ... on union ‘in Christ’” (W. Mounce 2000: 464). “[In Christ] stands for the mystical union with Christ which the believer enjoys as the fruit of his faith” (Kelly 1963: 154).

(1990: 324) says: “‘In Christ Jesus’ points to Him as the basis of our salvation, in all senses of the word, as well as to our mystical union with Him from the moment of conversion.” Kelly (1963: 178) rightly sees this salvation that is in Christ Jesus as being “a result of being united with Christ.”

1900: 259–260.

Sacra 116 (Apr–Jun) 1959: 117–126.

1959: 117.

1959: 117. “In addition, the present tense [verb] accounts for 54 of these 98 occurrences, and the imperfect tense for 6 more. In other words, the linear concept of action expressed in these two tenses accounts for 60 of the 98 times the verb appears in John. Then too, from among the 5 moods that are employed in this Gospel the participle is used 21 times, exceeded in frequency only by the indicative” (Hawthorne 1959: 117).

Kysar (1993: 94) says, “The Fourth Evangelist never uses the noun, faith or belief, but always and only the verb, to believe.... If faith is always a verb, that surely implies that faith is not something one does once and for all time. Rather, faith as a verb means that believing is a decision made once only to have to be made over and over again. Faith is a continuing dynamic, not a state of being.”

1959: 117, emphasis added. Vellanickal notes that “the participial expression” (the one is preferred by John. This verbal expression “shows that for John faith is not a static disposition, but an active commitment, and ... this active commitment is a continual life of commitment” (1977: 141 and fn. 219). See also Redelings 2011: 18–19 and Ashby 2002: 164–165.

McReynolds uses “trusting” for pisteuō throughout his Word Study New Testament interlinear translation.

are referring specifically to Greek-English Interlinear translations One can consult essentially literal translations McReynolds, Thornhill) and find “believing” or “trusting” being used.

2012: 193.

1996: 621, fn. 22.

2012: 203. Greek scholar Daniel Wallace says in the gospel of John, “there seems to be a qualitative distinction between the ongoing act of believing and the simple fact of (1996: 522, emphasis added). He argues for this distinction not simply because believing is in the Greek present tense, “but to the use of the present participle of πιστεύων believing], especially in soteriological [i.e., salvation] contexts in the NT” (1996: 620–621). Wallace (1996: 621, fn. 22) goes on to explain that the New Testament use of the present participle for the one believing appears to be contrasted with the aorist participle for the one having In salvation contexts, the one believing “occurs six times as often” in comparison to the one having believed (he notes: John 1:12; 3:15, 16, 18; 3:36; 6:35, 47, 64; 7:38; 11:25; 12:46; Acts 2:44; 10:43; 13:39; Romans 1:16; 3:22; 4:11, 24; 9:33; 10:4, 11; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 14:22 [twice]; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:7; 2:10, 13; 1 Peter 2:6, 7; 1 John 5:1, 5, 10, 13). Therefore, “since the aorist participle was a live option to describe a ‘believer,’ it is unlikely that when the present was used, it was aspectually flat. The present was the tense of choice most likely because the NT writers by and large saw continual belief as a necessary condition of salvation.”

We find it interesting that Daniel Steele (1824–1914), a professor of New Testament Greek at Boston University, arrived at parallel conclusions in his 1878 book, Mile-stone Papers: Doctrinal, Ethical, and Experimental on Christian In a chapter titled: “Tense Readings of the Greek New Testament,” he concluded from the evidence in the gospel of John (and in other Pauline texts) “that the Spirit of inspiration has uniformly chosen the present tense believing] in order to teach that final salvation depends on persevering faith” (1878: 52). For Steele, “it is a great mistake to teach that a single act of faith furnishes a person with a paid-up, non-forfeitable policy, assuring the holder that he will inherit eternal life, or that a single energy of faith secures a through ticket for heaven, as is taught by the Plymouth Brethren, and by some popular lay evangelists” (1878: 47). We find it discouraging that even today we have pastors who teach that one moment of faith in Christ secures a person’s arrival in heaven, even if that person later abandons their faith in Christ and walks away from Him entirely.

Robertson, WP 5:50; Michaels 2010: 61–62; Bruce 1983: 89; Carson 1990: 202; R. Mounce 2007: 398, 399; Lenski 1943: 257; Turner & Mantey 1964: 97–98; Harris 2015: 75. The Greek preposition en (translated in English as “in”) is only used here after believes/believing in the gospel of John Michaels 1984: 43). “Everywhere else the preposition eis (‘into’) ... is used. It is therefore likely that ‘in’ goes with the expression ‘to have life’ rather than with ‘believe’” (Michaels 1984: 43–44).

1943: 257. Cassirer: “through union with him.”

Robertson identifies the verb “have” as a “present active subjunctive” 5:49), which is also found in 3:16; 6:40; 20:31, and is connected to “believing.”

WP 5:49. “In many cases the results of the believing are also given in [the Greek] a continuous tense. As we keep we keep on having eternal life (John 3:15, 16, 36; 20:31)” (Horton 1972: 21, emphasis added).

Richard Lenski notes that the Greek present-tense verb for believing is “durative” (i.e., expressing continuing action), and the present tense verb for having (eternal life) is “durative” as well. Thus,

The believer has life the moment he believes and as long as he believes; he is not compelled to wait until he enters heaven.... Nothing dead can give itself life, least of all that life which has its source in the Son of God himself.... And this life is “eternal” .... While its nature is “eternal” and deathlessness, it may be lost during our stay in this sinful world, but only by a willful and wicked cutting of the bond “in him,” a deliberate renunciation and destruction of faith (1943: 257–258).

(2012: 203) says,

the prepositional idiom of John’s believing state is striking: pisteuōn eis literally, into In English we do not say “believing or trusting or entrusting (ourselves) someone. The Greek “into” does us the great service of conveying trust’s and resting trust is directed “into” Jesus, into his and rests there him whom one has placed one’s life.... For Jesus, personally, is not only trust’s source and he is also its object and resting

Stanley 2007: 165–166. “In Greek the present tense often means duration, thus the sense here would be ‘whoever believes, and keeps on believing’” (J. Rodman Williams 1996: 2:129, fn. 41; So Banks, Persevering 35; cf. Horton 1965: 11). “We must note that the promise of eternal life is to whosoever continues to believe in the Son. The word ‘believe’ is in the Greek present tense, and indicates continued action” (Butler 1961: 112; cf. Turner & Mantey 1964: 99; Wynkoop 1972: 245). “The present participle of this verb with the preposition in ... = exercising living faith in the person of Christ” (Hendriksen 1953: 1:141, fn. 83). “The word is a wonderfully participle (an ending word) which means that it is an ongoing trust, like breathing, which is continually resting in the divine Love” (Bruner 2012: 202–203).

2000: 70; cf. Lenski 1943: 265. reads: “shall be having eternal life.”

2002: 201, emphasis added.

graciously provided by my former professor Dr. Wesley Gerig (1930–2019), Fort Wayne Bible College/Summit Christian College/Taylor University–Fort Wayne Campus). Dr. Gerig was one of the translators for the original NIV and taught Hebrew, Greek, Bible, and Theology courses at the college from 1957 to 2008.

1972: 245.

in the Father (through his agent Jesus, 5:24; 12:44) and the Son (1:12; 3:15, 16, 18, 36; 6:35, 40, 47; 7:38–39; 8:24; 11:25–26; 12:36, 46; 16:27; 17:8; cf. 6:29) is the precondition for salvation, but in the context of the Fourth Gospel, salvation is guaranteed only if one perseveres in such faith” (Keener 2003: 1:327).

is present tense: the one who believes ‘has’ eternal life now, as a present possession” (Michaels 2010: 227–228).

the believing and the disobeying (present-tense participles) “point to ongoing actions and attitudes, not single actions” (Harris 2015: 86). “The verb [for disobeying] is a present participle indicating a continuing attitude” (Morris 1971: 248).

Horton 1965: 15 “keep[s] on believing, trusting.”

1992: 87, emphasis added. “The present participle indicates a continuing trust” (Morris 1971: 248). “John used the present tense to denote that the one receiving eternal life is one who continually trusts” (Butler 1961: 1:124).

1965: 23, emphasis added.

this verse ‘believing’ (a present tense participle) is in linear action—just as it usually is in the Gospel of John. The faith that saves is an ongoing faith, a continuing belief. We could appropriately render the verse thus: ‘The one who is believing has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation’” (Picirilli, “Editor’s Note on John 5:24: Do Promises to Believers Guarantee their Security?” in Stallings 1989: 85). Gerig: “the one who continues hearing my word and continues believing on the One who sent Me continues having eternal life.”

1992: 1612. “The verbs hear and believe are both in the present tense, which indicates continuing to hear and believe.... The emphasis is not on belief as simply a momentary act, but on the process of believing” (Arrington 2005: 63). “The and the having everlasting are the faith is the possession of eternal life is:—and when the one remits, the other is forfeited” (Alford 1863: 508).

& Krause 1998: 168. So Turner & Mantey 1964: 163; Butler 1961: 1:243.

WP 5:108. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone continuing to behold the Son and continuing to believe on Him is continuing to have eternal life and I myself shall raise him in the last day” (John 6:40, Gerig).

the Bread of Life discourse (John 6:22–59), this believing is clearly directed toward a person—Jesus, the Bread of Life.

(198) note that “has” here is in the present tense, which “indicates continual possession.”

Turner & Mantey 1964: 164. Blum (1983: 296) notes the present-tense verb for believing means “that a believer is characterized by his continuing trust.”

Mounce 2007: 447, emphasis added. The “continuous present tenses in the Greek emphasize that it is necessary to keep believing in order to keep having eternal (Horton 1965: 26, emphasis added). “The present condition of believing is followed by the present possession of ‘everlasting life.’ ... He did not say he who ‘believed’ but is ‘believing.’ It is not sufficient to have trusted and committed at a time in the past. The experience must be a present practice” (Tourville 1988: 173, 175).

(198) note that “abides” is in the present tense, which “indicates a continual abiding.”

is well to note here that the trogon (the one eating) is in the present tense and must be translated ‘the one continuing to eat me...’ etc. Assimilation of the Bread of Life must be continuous” (Butler 1961: 1:251, emphasis added). Cf. Williams: “whoever keeps on eating me will live because of me” (v. 57b).

live” is to be understood “in the Messianic sense, to enjoy real i. e. to have true life and worthy of the name—active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of (Thayer 270).

continues to eat this bread will live forever” (v. 58, Williams, emphasis added).

A. Carson’s (1990: 297) comments are representative of many commentators:

Verses 54 and 40 are closely parallel: ‘Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day’ (v. 54); ‘...everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day’ (v.40).... The conclusion is obvious: the former is the metaphorical way of referring to the latter.

1943: 494. Jesus said, “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (6:51). This means: “The life-giving bread is given to the world and effects life for the world, on the In death, Jesus will give his own life in order to provide eternal life to the world. Thus, the ‘bread of life’ is not simply a metaphor for Jesus as the one who gives life, but, more precisely, for Jesus ‘[E]ating’ Jesus’ flesh and ‘drinking’ his blood denote coming and believing in the one who is lifted up on the cross (cf. 3:14–15)” (Bennema 2008: 81).

WP 5:111. So Morris 1971: 379, fn. 130.

Mounce 2007: 450. and drinks translate present participles which emphasize continuing action; this same action is represented in (Pack 1975: 1:113). Based on the present-tense verbs found in 6:54–58, Bennema (2007: 138) argues, “[Eternal] Life is sustained through ... continuous belief” and “remaining/abiding in Jesus.”

198.

one who is eating My flesh and drinking My blood is remaining in Me and I in them” (6:56, Thornhill).

in Jesus is guaranteed by continuous believing; the continuous consumption of Jesus’ flesh and blood guarantees abiding in Jesus” (Bennema 2007: 140).

“Abiding” in DJG 2, emphasis added. Harold Moulton says menō means abide, to be in close and settled John 6:56; 14:10; 15:4, et al.” (Moulton 263).

Thompson 2015: 151. “Whoever continues to eat my flesh and drink my blood continues to live in union with me and I in union with him” (John 6:56, Williams).

Greek “I am” is in the emphatic position and “emphasizes this reading: ‘I and I alone and no other am the light’” (Comfort & Hawley 2009: 121; cf. Lenski 1943: 593).

(2015: 168) says “will have” “is a linear future” meaning “will continue to have.”

(1992: 159) writes: “It is debated whether Jesus means ‘the light that gives life’ (subjective genitive), ‘the light that is life’ (genitive of apposition), or ‘is characterized by life’ (genitive of description). It may be that Jesus did not intend to limit the meaning of this rich expression.” This may be true, but it seems more probable to us that “the Light of life” is “life-giving light” that guides the follower of Jesus Cassirer; CJB; Bruce 1983: 188; Carson 1990: 338). We lean this way since Jesus is viewed as being able to give “life-giving” water (John 4:10, 14) and bread (6:33, 35, 48–51, 58) to those trusting in Him, and is presently giving eternal life to His sheep who are following Him (John 10:27–28). Regardless as to how we are to precisely understand this phrase, as Bultmann (1971: 344) says, “because he is the light, faith can be called following; to have the ‘light of life’ means to have Michaels (2010: 479) is on target when he says, “The ‘light of life’ (v. 12b) is light for that journey, light that gives eternal life and salvation to those who follow ‘the Light of the world.’”

Thornhill, McReynolds.

1971: 438, emphasis added. So Turner & Mantey 1964: 191. Williams: “continues to follow.” Stamps 1992: 1619: “keeps on following.” Gerig: “continues following me.”

22: “to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple; side with his party ... to cleave steadfastly to one, conform wholly to his example, in living and if need be in dying also.” Kittel, TDNT (1:213–214) says the figurative use of following (akoloutheō) “is strictly limited to discipleship of Christ.” It “signifies self-commitment,” an internal “attachment” and “relationship to Jesus.” Following Jesus “means a participation in the salvation offered in Jesus” and potentially “participation in the fate of Jesus” (cf. Mark 8:34ff.; John 12:25–26).

A. Stanley 2006: 145, 316; Köstenberger 2004: 254. “John’s vocabulary of faith—following, believing, knowing, and seeing—is used to refer to both the initial response and to ongoing commitment to Jesus” (M. Thompson 2015: 304).

sheep my voice continue hearing; and I myself am knowing them and they continue following Me. And I am giving to them eternal life and they will never perish forever” (John 10:27–28a, Gerig). Cf. Thornhill: “My sheep are listening to my voice, and I know them and they are following Me; and I am giving to them eternal life and they will never ever be lost.”

could add that following and trusting in Jesus is seen as the condition for ultimately being with Jesus when He returns:

“If anyone is going to serve Me; they must be following Me; and where I am, there also My servant will if anyone is going to serve Me, the Father will honor them.” (John 12:26, Thornhill, emphasis added)

“Do not let your heart be troubled. Be believing in God [‘Keep on trusting in God,’ Laney 1992: 253]. Be believing [or trusting] also in Me. There are many places‐to‐stay in the house of My Father.... For I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming back. And I will take you to Myself—in order that where I am, you also may (John 14:1–3, emphasis added)

live” (zαō) is to be understood “in the Messianic sense, to enjoy real life, i.e. to have true life and worthy of the name—active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God” (Thayer 270).

1965: 48: “keeps believing.”

61: “of eternal death, as it is called, i. e. to be subject to eternal misery, and that, too, already beginning on earth: Rom 8:13; John 6:50; John 11:26.”

1943: 802–803. Claybrook (2003: 214) states,

Jesus never alters his basic message of salvation. A person must be believing to attain salvation when he dies. ... These verses, when more literally translated, make this point plainly: “I am the resurrection and the life, the one believing in me, even if he should die, will live, and everyone living and believing in me by no means ever dies” (vv. 25–26). These verses ... [show] that a person’s eternal state is finally established at the time of his death. If a person is believing when he dies, he will live (v. 25). At the same time, while we are living here on earth, as long as we are believing, we have the firm assurance that we will never taste eternal death. It is only those who are currently believing, though, that have that assurance.

not let your heart be troubled. Be believing in God. Be believing also in Me” (John 14:1,

(1991: 488) says that the imperative “is the way the verbs were taken in nearly all the Old Latin and it makes most sense of the context” (cf. Michaels 2010: 766, fn. 11). Others see both verbs as likely imperatives (Bruce 1983: 306, fn. 1; Witherington 1995: 248; Stube 2006: 104; M. Thompson 2015: 306).

letting your hearts be in turmoil; keep on believing in God, and keep on believing in me” (Beasley-Murray 1991: 110; So Horton 1965: 62; cf. Robertson 5:248; Lenski 1943: 969). “In John, faith in Jesus is often the relational ground for faith in God (5.38; 8.46ff.) and here faith in God is the relational ground for faith in Jesus. Thus, to give up faith in Jesus would also be to give up faith in God” (Stube 2006: 105).

disciples are “exhorted to continue in faith” or “believing,” which “essentially means commitment or trust” (M. Thompson 2015: 304).

1992: 253–254. After looking closely at the use of the verb believe in John 1:12; 6:29, 35, 40, 47, 54; and 14:1, Gerald Hawthorne had this to conclude about the nature of faith in the Fourth Gospel:

Faith to John was not static or passive, but was dynamic and active, reaching out to appropriate and make the object of faith one’s own. There was in it, too, an element of dependency, a recognition of the absolute need for the object, with a consequent willingness to come to that object. It appears, also, to be more than mere belief about or recognition of the true value of the object, more than mental apprehension of it. There seems also to have been a definite concept of committal to that object.... Faith, then, in its highest and noblest sense was to John a vital appropriation of, dependency upon, and committal to the object of its activity (1959: 122).

departure of Jesus “is made bearable by his promise” here, i.e., I will go, but I will prepare a place, and I will come again and “take you to be with me,” which “points to an existence beyond death where Jesus is” and “counter[s] the disciples’ sorrow and distress” (Stube 2006: 106). The “disciples know the way to the Father and his house because they know Jesus.... ‘If they are to reach the goal, the disciples must continue to cling to Jesus and remain united with him through faith, even though they may outwardly be separated from him’” (Stube 2006: 106–107, who quotes Schnackenburg).

agree with Bennema (2008: 10): “the single purpose of John’s Gospel is to bring people to initial belief in Jesus and to sustain this belief so that they may (continue to) have life.”

WP 5:317. “Again the use of the present tense [verb] denotes continuance in believing, not just an initial or merely temporary faith” (Turner & Mantey 1964: 400).

WP 5:317. “The present subjunctive [for having life] is the proper term, for the believer has this life at once, the instant he believes, and possesses this life ... as long as he believes” (Lenski 1943: 1398). The two present-tense verbs and having emphasize “ongoing faith and continual appropriation of Jesus’ life” (Comfort & Hawley 2009: 256).

1992: 13. “So that through (continuous) believing you may (continue to) have life in his name” (Bennema 2007: 10). Gerig: “continuing to believe, life you may continue having in His name.”

2010: 336.

1941: 1398, emphasis added. So E. Harrison 1962: 374.

1968: 261–262, emphasis added.

the same preposition “in” referring to with Jesus as discussed in John 3:15; 6:56; 20:31; is found here in v. 11. Thus, this “life” eternal is experienced only in union with the Father’s Son through believing/trusting in the Son of God.

verb ... ‘has,’ is in the present tense, indicating a continuing present possession of life” (Burdick 1985: 377).

1990a: 228, emphasis added. He adds this believing “involves not merely an acceptance of the truthfulness of the message but also a personal trust in or committal to the One to whom witness is borne” (Ibid.). Yarbrough (2008: 288) writes, “The dynamic nature of the believing that John promotes is implied by his verb word choice.... [Believing occurs] in the present [tense] form, which tends to suggest an ongoing (as opposed to a static or once-and-done-with) response.”

1990b: 312, emphasis added. Smalley (2007: 254, 263) says, “the present tense [verb in 1 John 5:1, 5, 10, 13] ... literally, ‘believing,’ suggests the need for continuous faith” and “implies maintaining the faith.”

1990a: 230, emphasis added. “Eternal life has its seat and source in the Son, who is the ‘Prince’ or ‘Author of life’ (Acts 3:15).... ‘To have the Son’ must be compared with ‘to have the Father’ in 2:23. In both cases ‘have’ signifies possession in living union through faith” (Plummer 1890: 163).

1990a: 230, emphasis added.

(2000: 52) says, “eternal security is firmly promised to ‘the one believing’—the person who continues to believe in Christ—but not to ‘the one having believed,’—the person who has merely exercised one single act of faith some time in the past.” “True security rests in the fact that saving faith is not a single historical act, but a present-tense, up-to-date, continuing process” (Purkiser 1956: 32–33).

(2002: 169) writes: “Faith in Christ is what places one in Christ. Eternal life is not merely perpetual existence; it is the very life of God. I participate in that life because I am forensically in No one who is outside of Christ has eternal life. The life of God was eternal before I got it, and it will continue to be eternal, even if I were to forfeit it by rejecting Christ Jesus.”

C. Davis (1984: 168) arrived at parallel conclusions:

So the Christian here and now “has eternal life” (John 3:36; 5:24; etc.). Just as the Father the Son also the “one who believes has eternal (John 5:24–26; 3:36). Although the present possession is real it is only the first stage because, at the Parousia, the saints “will rise to life” (John 5:29).

Does this interpretation lend support to the doctrine of “once saved always saved”? No! The text says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). This affirms that he who continues to believe continues to have eternal The real question is “Is it possible for a believer to cease believing and therefore forfeit his claim to this promise?” Yes, this answer is implied in the use of the present tense [verb for believes] in John 3:36; 5:24; [etc.]; and clearly stated in Hebrews 3:12: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” So, a believer may become an unbeliever and forfeit his share in “eternal life.” Does this mean that “eternal life” could come to an end? No, “eternal life” is the life of God; it will never come to an end, but the one who ceases to believe forfeits his share in the life of God. Eternal life will go on and on and all who continue to believe will continue to possess it (John 3:36; 5:24–29). The believer “has eternal life” as a present possession as well as a future hope.

FIVE

Saving Faith (Part 2)

No one denies that a person receives eternal life the moment we trust in Him who is the Bread of Life. But as we discovered from the last chapter, the New Testament asserts that a person is presently having eternal life precisely because they are presently trusting in Him who is the Source of Whether we are talking about receiving life from Him who is the Bread of Life or salvation from Him who is the Savior the condition remains the continuing

We are well aware that there are some who argue from a few New Testament passages that saving faith is an act of a moment and a person does not have to keep on trusting in Jesus in order to remain in a saving relationship with For example, when Paul and Silas were asked by a jailer, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30), they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31, To this reply, Pastor Charles Stanley writes,

Here believe is used in the aorist tense.... When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, they did not tell him to begin believing and maintain a believing attitude.... The focus here is the act of his believing, not the maintenance of his faith or even his intention to maintain his faith. If one must keep believing to stay saved, why didn’t Paul and Silas explain this fact to the jailer?... The most obvious answer is that Paul and Silas did not believe salvation was the result of continuing

We see a couple of problems with Stanley’s reasoning here. First, the use of the aorist tense for believe is not significant since the “aorist normally views the action as a taking no interest in the internal workings of the actions.... It places the stress on the fact of the occurrence, not its Paul and Silas simply invited the jailer to place his trust in the Lord Jesus. Thankfully, he did (and so did those in his household, Acts 16:32–34). The jailer trusted in the Lord Jesus, and at that moment he was saved from his sin and entered into a saving relationship with Him who is Savior and Lord. The aorist tense does not tell us anything more than this fact. This passage clearly refers to the jailer’s initial salvation experience. Thus, one can hardly declare that “Paul and Silas did not believe salvation was the result of continuing faith” from this single passage. One would need to look at Paul’s teaching elsewhere as to whether he taught that a believer’s present and final salvation was guaranteed by a single moment of faith or a continuing

Second, we find it biblically irresponsible to argue from one verse in the book of Acts that Paul and Silas did not believe that these new Christians needed to maintain their faith in order to stay in a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus just because they never said so at that We simply do not know all that was said later on as Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house” (Acts 16:32). We would need to survey, at least briefly, the book of Acts and Paul’s other writings before arriving at such a confident conclusion. Before we do this, let us alert the reader to the kind of instruction Pastor Charles Stanley would provide to new Christians based on his book Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?

Stanley teaches that “God does not require a constant attitude of faith in order to be saved [eternally]—only an act of And “Even if a believer ... becomes an his salvation is not in It does not matter if believers “abandon their faith” in Jesus, they “will retain their

Luke presents a decidedly different kind of teaching given to new Christians in the book of For example, when the church in Jerusalem heard that in Antioch “a great number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21), they sent Barnabas there to check things out (11:22). After “having seen the grace of God, [he] rejoiced and was encouraging everyone to remain devoted of heart to the Lord” (Acts 11:23,

The verbs for encouraging and remain are significant. Schnabel says, “the imperfect tense” of encouraging “describes ongoing This “implies that he remained in Antioch and that this was his theme for as long as he was “[T]he present infinitive [verb for speaks of continuous A good start is excellent, but we must endure to the Thus, Barnabas was actively encouraging new believers to continue to remain “devoted” (Williams), “loyal” or “faithful” to the Lord, no doubt through the same grace of God that originally led them into a faith relationship with the Lord Jesus.

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas were in Pisidian Antioch preaching to the men of Israel and Gentiles who feared God (v.16). They proclaimed that from the descendants of David, “God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised” (v.23), and raised Him from the dead (vv. 30–37). They declared, “Be it known, therefore, to you, men and brethren, that through this One remission [“forgiveness,” of sins is being announced to you; and in connection with this One everyone believing is justified from all things from which you could not be justified in connection with the law of Moses” (Acts Lenski observes:

The two phrases are in direct contrast: “in connection with the law [of Moses]” and “in connection with this One.” ... Paul tells his hearers that if they appear before God’s judgment bar in connection with the law of Moses as their hope, God cannot acquit them....

The sinner’s hope is only “in connection with this One.” The phrase does not belong to the participle: ‘everyone believing in this One,’ but to the verb: “is justified in connection with this One.” The connection with him is made by this believing.... “To believe” is to put all trust for remission, justification, and salvation in Christ alone as the Savior (v.23). By believing, by our confidence in him and in the saving power of his death and his resurrection we are put in vital, spiritual connection with Paul tells his hearers that everyone who appears before God’s judgment bar in connection with this Savior, he and he alone “is justified,” the present tense is durative: “is and remains justified” as long as he is “one

Then Luke records:

As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people repeatedly begged to have these things spoken to them the next Sabbath. Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and urging them to continue [or “remain,” in the grace of God. (Acts 13:42–43,

Barrett says this urging to continue in the grace of God implies “they have become Christians and must not give up their new Larkin (1995: 205) agrees,

In light of his exhortation (Acts 13:38–39) and the parallel thought at Acts 11:23, they are to remain in the salvation offered in the gospel (13:23, 26, 38–39) and not return to the performance way of obedience of the Old Testament law and Jewish tradition. This encouragement was well placed when we remember the attacks that these churches subsequently sustained from Judaizers (compare Gal 1:6–7; 3:1–6; 5:7–12; 6:11–13).

Then in Acts 14, Luke records that when Paul and Barnabas “had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe] and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21–22). We need to remember, “It is in the context of [having experienced] persecution then that Paul and Barnabas return to these new disciples in order to encourage them to continue in the Fernando (1998: 215–216) writes,

[This] follow-through care here is warning the [new] converts about Not only does Acts 14 tell us about the necessity of suffering, it also illustrates that by showing how Paul suffered. We referred earlier to the mental anguish and humiliation that Paul must have experienced when he was stoned and dragged outside the city of Lystra [Acts 14:19]. Luke suggests that this message about suffering was an important part of his ministry of “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith,” for immediately after he records their teaching: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (v.22b, Hardship is a key ingredient of discipleship. Paul also teaches this in his letters (Phil. 1:28–30; 1Thess. 3:3), and Jesus mentioned it in his basic call to discipleship (Luke Acts 14:22 goes further, however, suggesting that suffering is a condition for entrance into the kingdom of God. Paul says the same thing in his letters: “We share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Rom. 8:17; see 2Tim. 2:12).

Perseverance in faith through sufferings, hardships, and persecutions is required of all Christ-followers if they “hope to enter the kingdom of that is, to “experience the full enjoyment of [final] salvation blessings either at death (2Timothy 4:18) or at Christ’s

It is highly doubtful that any of Luke’s original readers would have arrived at Charles Stanley’s conclusions from Acts 16:31 after reading or listening to these Furthermore, Paul’s own teaching on how a person remains in a saving relationship with God through Christ through a continuing faith is contrary to Stanley’s

Paul believed a person was saved from their enslavement to sin at the moment of faith, but this is not the end of the story on salvation. For Paul, salvation has three tenses—“a past event, a present experience, and a future

Past “For in this hope we were saved” (Romans

Present by spreading the Gospel message, Paul declares “we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are (2Corinthians 2:15, emphasis

Future “our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11b, Paul, like the rest of the New Testament writers, emphasizes the future hope of final salvation with God more than the initial saving

Saving faith for Paul was more than simply the act of a For example, in the opening chapter of Romans, Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed‐of the good‐news, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone believing—both to the Jew first and to the Greek” (Romans 1:16, The Greek verb for believing is “present “the tense that involves continuing Paul is thus stressing “that the faith that saves is not simply the initial act of but a “continuing ... trust in God through James Dunn writes:

Here as in other similar references to believers Paul uses the present [tense] rather than the aorist tense (3:22; 4:5, 11, 24; 9:33; 10:4, 10–11; 15:13; 1Cor 1:21; 14:22; 2Cor 4:13; Gal 3:22; Phil 1:29; 1Thess. 1:7; 2:10, 13; also Eph 1:19; aorist in 2Thess. 1:10).... In such passages he wishes to focus not solely on the initial act of faith but on faith as a continuing orientation and motivation for life.... This is the point of the present tense—“to all who believe and go on believing”; namely, to all who not only come to a decision of faith, but whose whole life is characterized as a trustful acceptance of and commitment to the gospel which is God’s power to

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes:

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.... For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who by the foolishness of preaching. (1Corinthians 1:18, 21,

David Garland notes that the Greek verbs for “perishing” and “being saved” “are in the present tense, representing this activity as in The word “believe” is also “in the present tense, which implies continuing Therefore, those who are in the process of being saved by God are none other than those who on or trusting in a crucified

Paul preached the Gospel message of Christ crucified, but also Christ resurrected.

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly [“are holding-on,” “holding fast,” Pifer 2019: 77] to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is the way you believed. (1Corinthians 15:1–11,

The message Paul delivered to them, which they and “believed” 15:2, 11), was that Christ died for our sins, was buried, was raised on the third day, and appeared to others (including Paul, vv. 3–10). Unfortunately, “some” in Corinth were saying “there is no [physical/bodily] resurrection of the dead” (15:12). Garland (2003: 682–683) observes,

They are not willfully perverting what he preached but are confused about a central tenet.... The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16), and they owe their new existence as Christians to Paul’s preaching of this gospel. He uses the present tense “you are being saved” ... which refers to both a present process (cf. 1Cor. 1:18) and a future reality... . If they do not hold firmly to what has been preached about the resurrection, they jeopardize their future with God. If they do not have faith that holds out, they believed in vain (cf. 15:58; 16:13).

The gospel’s saving message, centered on Christ crucified and resurrected, that Paul preached to the Corinthians demands that those having believed in the past are to (by faith) be “standing on” and holding on to it in the present if they want to continue “being by God’s grace both now and in the Jeanette Hagen Pifer states that standing on

portrays faith metaphorically as “standing on” the truth of the gospel.... It builds from the idea of receiving and accepting as true the claims of the gospel to add the idea of a continuing perseverance in faith.... By using the present perfect [tense] in 15:1, Paul conveys that it is ... a present stability based on a past action. Through this metaphor, Paul conveys faith as a continued and intentionally expressed confidence in Christ. The Christ-event is the foundation upon which one lives through faith.

Holding on/holding fast is a present-tense verb that “also conveys the continuing state of faith.... Indeed, faith is not simply a decision made once in the past, but must be actively exercised, which is powerfully communicated through the idea of ‘holding fast’ ... Paul certainly has in mind the necessity of continuing in faith with a focused direction towards and holding fast to the word of the gospel (15:1,

It necessarily follows that if a believer no longer keeps holding fast (in faith) to this Gospel message, then they have become an unbeliever and rendered their original faith “in vain,” i.e., useless to receive faith’s intended goal (final salvation) in response to the Gospel The phrase “believed in vain” “must mean that believers can do something to forfeit their Indeed, this “reflects the real possibility of apostasy from

Contrary to Charles Stanley and others, Paul did teach that one must keep believing in Christ and in the gospel message centered on Him to stay in a saving relationship with Paul’s teaching follows his Savior’s teaching, and thus, there is absolutely no warrant in the New Testament for that strange at-ease-in-Zion definition of perseverance that assures Christians that perseverance is inevitable and relieves them of the necessity of deliberately persevering in faith, encouraging them to place confidence in some past act or We agree with J. Rodman Williams when he states:

Any claim to security by virtue of the great salvation we have in Christ without regard to the need for continuing in faith is totally mistaken and possibly tragic in its results.... A doctrine of “perseverance of the saints” that does not affirm its occurrence through faith is foreign to Scripture, a serious theological misunderstanding, and a liability to Christian

We have answered the question we posed at the beginning of chapter 4. The Scriptures declare that saving faith is more than an act of a moment; it must be the attitude of a One’s saving relationship with Christ is a living union conditioned upon a living faith in a living Savior. We must persevere in faith in order to partake of all the present and future salvific blessings promised to the ones trusting in the Son of God or in the Father who sent Him. But such perseverance is not unconditionally guaranteed—“if indeed you continue in the faith.”

writer of Hebrews understands Jesus to be the “source of eternal salvation “to all the ones obeying him” (5:9, emphasis added).

Hodges (1989: 63) says, “...We miss the point to insist that true saving faith must necessarily continue. Of course, our faith in Christ should continue. But the claim that it absolutely must ... has no support at all in the Bible.” Likewise, Norman Geisler (2002: 109) asserts, “Continued belief is not a condition for keeping one’s salvation. Two related questions here must be distinguished. The first one is whether continual belief throughout one’s life is a necessary condition for keeping one’s salvation. In distinction from Arminians [and classical Calvinists], the answer is negative.”

Stanley 1990: 88, emphasis in original.

2009: 557. We would add that “departure from the aorist is exegetically more significant than the presence of the aorist” (Stagg 1972: 231; So Black 2009: 14).

will look at some of Paul’s teachings on this issue later in the chapter.

Stanley (1990: 85–88) argues for one moment of faith securing one’s eternal destiny from John 4:13–14 as well. Stanley (1990: 92–96) rests heavily on 2 Timothy 2:11–13 to support his view that believers can become unbelievers and still remain in a saving relationship with Christ. See chapter 16 for our discussion of John 4:13–14, and chapter 13 for our examination of 2 Timothy 2:11–13. We conclude that neither of these passages supports the once-saved-always-saved theology held by Stanley and others.

Stanley, 1990: 80, emphasis in original.

Stanley, 1990: 93, emphasis added.

Stanley, 1990: 94. In another place, Stanley (1990: 74) sees the Bible teaching that a Christian can “walk away from the faith” and still be certain of spending eternity with God.

Alan J. Thompson’s fine article: “Paul as Pastor in Acts: Modelling and Teaching Perseverance in the Faith” in Paul as He supports our conclusions that follow and adds additional insights.

(869) says when used in regard to humans, means to purpose, resolve, BDAG (869) sees the phrase of to refer to “devotion.” Cf. “to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts.” Williams: “to continue to be devoted to the Lord.”

2012: 522, emphasis added. “kept encouraging all of them.”

Williams 1990: 204–205.

1934: 454, emphasis added. Cf. L. Johnson 1992: 204.

1995: 178, “steadfast loyalty to the Lord.” F&M 335, loyal to (Acts 11:23).”

was] urging the [new] converts to remain faithful to the Lord” (Gundry 2010: 510; So Witherington 1997: 370). Strong’s 2145: “to remain faithful to someone.” Cf. Barrett 1994: 553: “they are to continue in their relation (of faith, v. 21) to the Lord.”

by Lenski 1934: 541.

are confident that Lenski intended this “spiritual connection” to be equivalent to union with Christ. Cf. Williams: “So, my brothers, you must understand that through forgiveness of your sins is now proclaimed to you, and that through union with Him every one of you who believes is given right standing with God and freed from every charge from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Act 13:38–39, emphasis added).

1934: 542–544, emphasis added. “Paul in ... (Acts 13:39) states clearly that those who are believing are (Wynkoop 1972: 245). Stier (1869: 204) notes: “the remaining in belief in Christ actually justifies and sanctifies.”

1994: 654. Barrett (1994: 654) rightly asks, “How could they continue in the grace of God if they had not been admitted to it?” Longenecker (2007: 926) says “to judge by Paul’s usual understanding of grace, [this] must connote their reception of and continuance in the good news about salvation through Jesus.”

present participle ... suggests a sustained effort” (Schnabel 2012: 613).

322: “to persist in a state or enterprise, persevere in, stand F&M 146: “figuratively, of keeping oneself to something persevere in, persist in, continue firm in (Acts 14:22).” So Strong’s 2069.

Thompson 2018: 19. Thompson convincingly argues that “Paul’s pastoral activity in Acts is particularly focused on encouraging believers to persevere in the faith in the face of danger and opposition” (2018: 17).

the immediate context, the reason why Paul encourages these disciples to ‘remain’ or ‘continue’ in the faith is because of the real threat of persecution” (A. Thompson 2018: 19).

context shows that the suffering and opposition endured by Paul and Barnabas in the previous towns is not meant to be understood as suffering that is unique only to Paul’s ministry. ‘Hardships’ are part and parcel of living the Christian life this side of the consummated kingdom” (A. Thompson 2018: 20).

his gospel, Luke records two sayings of Jesus that “warn against the possibility of falling away through persecution (9:23–26; 12:8–10)” (Oropeza 2011: 158).

1995: 216. “The missionaries call for believers to remain in the faith (14:22). A past decision to believe was insufficient. Ongoing faithfulness and loyalty ... were necessary” (R. Thompson 2015: 253). “This exhortation calls for perseverance in the faith in the face of the numerous obstacles to be encountered on the path [to the kingdom of God]” (Pervo 2009: 362).

find it highly doubtful that Paul, who is presently in chains and endures other hardships and persecutions for sharing the Gospel message about Christ crucified and resurrected, would have communicated to the jailer the following words that reflect Stanley’s particular brand of once-saved-always-saved theology: “Just believe once in Jesus and you will be saved forever, no matter if you later walk away from Christ and the Christian faith. Sure, I am going to continue to trust in Jesus and suffer hardship for sharing the Gospel message about Him to others, and it would be a good idea if you did as well, but you do not have to. As a matter of fact, you can stop believing in Jesus entirely and become an unbeliever and still be assured of spending eternity with Jesus. One moment of faith secures your eternal destiny, not a lifetime of trusting in Jesus.”

should note that Paul taught that the salvific blessings Christians receive from God through Christ are because of our faith-union with Christ. Rightmire (1996: 792) writes:

Union with Christ is union with God. Although Christocentric, Paul’s theology is grounded on the premise that “God was in Christ” (2 Cor 5:19).... Although union with God is dependent on God’s gracious initiative, it also requires a human response (Eph 2:8). Central to Paul’s notion of being “in Christ” is the fact of faith. It is the indispensable condition for salvation, a placing of one’s trust in the God revealed in Jesus Christ. This faith is the basis for intimate union with Christ, since it is the self-abandonment of the redeemed to the Redeemer. Faith-union thus finds its focal point in the death and resurrection of Christ.

For Paul, to be in this faith-union “involves a moral union that provides the ethical dynamic for Christian living” that is empowered by Christ and the Spirit (Ibid.). See the rest of Rightmire’s excellent article on “Union with Christ” in Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible (789–792), which covers both the Johannine and Pauline literature.

2010; 124, quoting A. M. Hunter in The Gospel According to We agree with Brenda Colijn (2010: 124, fn. 12) that “this applies to the New Testament as a whole” not just Paul’s writings. Witherington (2005: 72) explains it well:

Initial salvation is by grace through faith; final salvation involves not only grace, and faith, not only progressive sanctification worked inwardly by the Holy Spirit, but also active persevering on the part of the believer. There are three tenses to salvation in the Pauline discussion of the matter: I have been saved, I am being saved, I will be saved or obtain [final] salvation. Until one passes through all three of these tenses of salvation, the situation is still ... tense. There is still the possibility of apostasy, a willful rejection of the work of God in the believer’s life.

Paul speaks of salvation in the past (...we were saved), whereas he most often locates salvation in the eschaton [i.e., the future] (e.g., Rom. 5:9, 10; 13:11; 1 Cor. 3:15; 5:5; Phil. 1:19; 1 Thess. 5:9; 1 Tim. 2:15; 4:16; 2 Tim. 4:18)” (Schreiner 1998: 439). Yet, notice that Paul says, “in this hope,” we were saved, which refers to our confident expectation to receive “the redemption of our bodies” (v. 23) in the future.

use of the present participles, ‘those who are being saved’ ... and ‘those who are perishing’ ... would argue against any idea that they have been predestined for one or the other. They are being saved or destroyed because they choose to accept or reject the message” (Garland 1999: 149).

this context this is certainly our final salvation that will come when Christ returns” (Osborne 2004: 352).

Colijn 2010: 132. See Colijn’s (2010: 124–125) helpful summary of future and final salvation in Paul and the rest of the New Testament writers.

the excellent discussion by Paul Trebilco in Self-designations and Group Identity in the New “The believers,” 68–121. Trebilco’s work covers the entire New Testament witness on faith/trust, not just Paul’s letters. His conclusions affirm our understanding of saving faith being more than just an act of a moment but an attitude of a life.

Mounce 1995: 71, fn. 45; cf. Cottrell 1996: 115. Believing in verse 16 is specifically “a present active participle denoting continuous action” (Reasoner 2002: 46).

1975: 15, cf. Cottrell 1996: 115.

Mounce 1995: 71, fn. 45; cf. Picirilli 1975: 15.

1975: 15; cf. R. Mounce 1995: 71, fn. 45. “Paul is not teaching that a one-time decision for Christ or a one-time act of faith saves a person eternally” (Reasoner 2002: 46). Edwards (1992: 43) says the present-participle verb for believing “denotes faith as an ongoing activity.” Believing is a “progressive present [tense verb which] highlights continuing belief,” “a life of continuing faith” (Harvey 2019: 81; cf. 79, fn. 3).

1988a: 39–40, 47.

“to save the ones believing” “to save the ones trusting” (McReynolds).

2003: 64. So Butler 1985: 22; Picirilli 1987: 20–21; C. Williams 1953: 95.

2003: 64. So Butler 1985: 24–25; Picirilli 1987: 23; Lenski 1935: 63; Robertson & Plummer 1914: 21; Gardner 2018: 98. “Paul and others did see continual believing as evidence of salvation (cf. 14:22; Rom 3:22; 4:11, 24)” (Gardner 2018: 98–99, fn. 11).

1999: 28 and fn. 15, emphasis added.

do not receive salvation by exercising wisdom. It comes to them that believe (the tense is present continuous, indicating a habitual faith)” (Morris 1985: 45). “Continuing faith is the condition for continuing in salvation” (Picirilli 1987: 23). Jacobs (1896: 345–346) says, “The present participle, ‘that are believing,’ shows that faith is not properly an act but a habit ... and attitude towards God.... The ‘being saved’ and the ‘are believing’ go together. The question is not: ‘When did I believe?’ but ‘Do I now believe?’ and ‘Will I continue to believe until the end?’”

... involves the act of personally receiving the gospel” (Pifer 2019: 76).

512: became a believer, a Christian ... 1 Co. 15:2, 11.”

2019: 76.

saved” is a present-tense verb “which ... demonstrates that Paul is presenting salvation as a process,” and in the passive voice, “which presents salvation as orchestrated by God” (Pifer 2019: 78). God does the saving, but we the trusting. But even this “Faith is never portrayed as an autonomous human work; faith is always predicated upon divine enablement in Paul’s letters” (Pifer 2019: 78).

“letters warn that failure to ‘hold fast’ to his gospel message would place former believers among those who are not being saved (1 Cor 15:1–2)” (Eubank 2017: 39, and fn. 29 reads: “See also Gal 1:6–9; 4:8–11; 5:2–4”). “They must continue to adhere to the word as the Apostle preached it, if their salvation is to be completed.... Otherwise the faith with which they embraced the Gospel when it was first taught them, would be vain. Our salvation does not rest upon our having once believed, but upon our faithful continuance in the Word” (Jacobs 1897: 122–123). To “abandon” the foundational message of the Gospel here is “to commit spiritual suicide” or apostasy (Harrington 2021: 510).

2019: 77–78. “Paul ... implies that future salvation is conditional upon faithfulness” (Colijn 2010: 133).

intended goal of believing in the Gospel message is nothing less than receiving final salvation with God in His imperishable Kingdom through a resurrection into an imperishable body for those who are in a faith-union with Christ crucified, resurrected, and coming again (see 1 Corinthians 15).

1990: 34. “The expression ‘believed in vain’ would be meaningless unless someone who had actually believed could fail to receive the final salvation” (Colijn 1990: 34).

1987: 214. So Oropeza 2012a: 106, and fn. 171. Lutheran Jordan Cooper (2015: 66) writes:

For Paul’s readers, being saved is dependent upon one’s remaining in the faith. If one “holds fast” to the gospel, one will receive salvation. However, those who reject the gospel and walk away will have believed in vain. Paul does not write that the belief is false, or was never present, but that it is in vain because through the loss of belief, the desired result of belief—namely, eternal life—is forfeited.

carefully examining the faith language used in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, John Taylor, in his 2004 PhD dissertation Paul’s Understanding of says “believing” is

the distinguishing mark of this new community, the boundary marker of those who will share in the resurrection.... And for Paul ... faith is seen not simply as an initial response to the gospel, but as an ongoing necessity for the With the knowledge that this young church has been suffering some form of persecution, Paul fears that they might abandon their commitment to Jesus Christ.... Faith in God is characteristic of those who do not give in to persecution. For Paul, suffering through persecution is seen as inevitable (1 Thess. 3:3–4; Phil 1:29), purposeful (2 Cor. 1:9, 12:7–10; Phil. 3:10), but also dangerous to faith.... Continuing in faith is used therefore almost as a summary for what it means to live as Christians. Or to turn this around, in the earliest evidence that is available [from Paul’s letters], on-going faith is definitive of Pauline Christianity (2004: 58, 63, 65, emphasis added).

Taylor goes on to examine faith language in Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Romans. In each letter, “Paul is concerned with the continuing faith of the recipients of his letters.” And, “motivated by an awareness of future judgement,” he writes “to sustain the faith of the early Christian communities in the face of the pressures of persecution, moral breakdown, or deceptive teaching.... Even in Romans it has been seen that the way in which Paul uses Abraham, as the father and example of faith, suggests this overriding concern with the endurance of faith” (2004: 175). For Paul it is only the persons “who receive the gospel in faith, and continue in that faith, [who] are assured of salvation or final justification. Faith is therefore necessary for eschatological existence in Christ, in the time between the inauguration and consummation of salvation” (2004: 177).

scholar James Leo Garrett (2001: 469) rightly recognizes that traditional Calvinist and Arminians “do not differ as to whether continuing faith in Jesus Christ will be necessary for final or eschatological salvation. Both agree that it is so. Rather, they differ as to whether all Christians or all true believers will continue in faith to the end.” Only moderate Calvinist/Free Grace adherents hold to the idea that continuing in faith is not necessary for obtaining final salvation with God.

R. Williams 1996: 2:133–334, emphasis added. Calvinist Tony Lane (2014: 216) agrees:

[Traditional Calvinism and Arminianism] are agreed that salvation requires perseverance [in faith]. More recently, however, a third view has emerged [i.e., Moderate Calvinism or Free Grace], according to which all who are converted will be saved regardless of how they then They will be saved even if they immediately renounce their faith and lead a life of debauched atheism. Many people today find this view attractive, but it is blatantly unbiblical.... This view is pastorally disastrous.

Denney (1918: 291) has well said:

There is nothing superficial in what the New Testament calls faith ... it is [man’s] absolute committal of himself for ever to the sin-bearing love of God for salvation. It is not simply the act of an instant, it is the attitude of a it is the one right thing at the moment when a man abandons himself to Christ, and it is the one thing which keeps him right with God for ever (emphasis added).

SIX

If You Continue in the Faith

In the last two chapters, we concluded that if one desires to remain in a saving relationship with God through Christ, then one must continue to keep on trusting in the Savior and in the saving message centered on Christ. But the Scriptures give numerous warnings that indicate that persevering in faith is not inevitable for every Christ-follower. Two urgent warnings from Paul merit special consideration at this time. “To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae” (Colossans 1:2), Paul writes,

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Colossians 1:21–23)

Before we look at Chafer’s attempt to interpret this passage in harmony with his once-saved, always-saved theology, there are two interpretive issues that are debated among scholars that should be considered. First, Todd Still (2006: 297) writes:

The precise connotation of “faith” in this verse is debatable. Is it the Colossians’ personal faith to which Paul is referring (so NIV [“if you continue in your Is it the basic beliefs to which the Colossians and other believers hold [so Or is it a both/and rather than an either/or? While I am inclined to construe “faith” here primarily as initial and continual trust in God through Christ (1:4; 2:5, 12), as intimated in the it would be both unwise and unnecessary to dichotomize the act of faith from the facts of faith. In any event, Paul, like Jesus, regarded the saving faith as the continuing faith (cf. Mt.

We find Still’s conclusions wise and sound. The second interpretive issue is discussed by Douglas Moo (2008: 144–145):

The precise nuance of the conditional construction that Paul uses here is debated. Some believe that the construction ge [“if indeed”]) suggests uncertainty—“if, though I doubt it”—while others think it connotes confidence—“if, as I am sure.” Pauline evidence points in both directions, Galatians 3:4 falling into the former category and 2Corinthians 5:3 and Ephesians 3:2; 4:21 into the latter. Since most of the parallels point to the idea of confidence, and because Paul expresses confidence in the Colossians elsewhere (see esp. 2:5), it is this direction that we should probably take here. Nevertheless, the condition is a real one, and it is very important not to rob the words of their intended rhetorical function. As his strong pleas in 2:16–23, make clear, Paul is genuinely concerned that the false teachers might “disqualify” the Colossians Christians (2:18). This being the case, Paul would clearly want his words here to be taken with great seriousness. He wants to confront the Colossians with the reality that their eventual salvation depends on their remaining faithful to Christ and to the true Only by continuing in their faith can they hope to find a favorable verdict from God on the day of judgment. We have in this verse, then, a real warning. This warning, along with many similar ones, presents the “human responsibility” side in the biblical portrayal of final salvation. God does, indeed, by his grace and through his Spirit, work to preserve his people so that they will be vindicated in the judgment; but, at the same time, God’s people are responsible to persevere in their faith if they expect to see that

First, we agree with James Dunn (1996: 110) that while “if indeed” “may denote confidence more than doubt ... final acceptance is nevertheless dependent on remaining in the faith. The ... pastoral point is that however such persistence must be enabled by God through his Spirit (1:11), there must be such persistence.” Furthermore, we find it hard to “conceive that Paul would present persisting in the faith as a condition if he simply meant to confirm that it would automatically [or irresistibly] Paul is likely confident, but such confidence does not suggest that he believes their perseverance in faith is inevitable. The negative counterpart of persevering in faith is “not shifting from the hope of the gospel,” which the false teachers are trying to seduce them away This “hope of the gospel” (cf. Colossians is nothing less than the and confident expectation of eternal salvation [with

Second, we appreciate Moo emphasizing that perseverance in faith is not optional if one expects to find a favorable verdict from God on judgment day. However, he actually robs these words of their intended rhetorical function when you discover that he is a classical Calvinist who holds that God (via unconditional election and irresistible grace) makes it impossible for believers to fail to persevere in faith. If Paul held to this same position (as Calvinists assert), and communicated this to his readers at some time, they could hardly take this warning as being “real,” or with any “great seriousness.” Furthermore, how can Paul (the supposed Calvinist) be “genuinely concerned” that the false teachers could “disqualify” these Christians from partaking of the hope of the gospel (final salvation with God), when he knows that this has been rendered impossible by God via unconditional election and irresistible grace? The classical Calvinist reading of this passage ultimately strips the condition and warning found in this text as having any relevance to Paul’s original readers.

Moderate Calvinist Lewis Chafer attempts to alleviate any need for believers to be persevering in faith in order to obtain final salvation with God by separating “two lines of truth” found in this passage and changing how it should be punctuated.

Two issues appear in this context: that of God’s work for man and that of man’s work for God. In fact, the contrast between divine responsibility and human responsibility appears many times in the Colossian Epistle. No end of doctrinal disorder has been engendered by the disarrangement of these so widely different ideas. A worthy student will not rest until he can trace his way through, and separate, these two lines of

It is interesting to observe how Chafer manages to “trace his way through and separate these two lines of truth” in Colossians 1:21–23:

Because of a misleading punctuation which introduces only a comma after the word death, the two lines of thought have been not only connected, but the work of God for man has been supposed to depend on man’s work for God. That would be acceptable Arminian interpretation of doctrine, but it is not the meaning of the With no punctuation in the original text, it is allowable to place a full stop after the word death (vs. 22) and to begin a new part of the sentence with the next word to. This arrangement, without changing any words, divides properly between the two aspects of truth which are wholly unrelated in the sense that they are not interdependent. Thus the text is rescued from implying what it does not, that the work of God depends on the work of

It is true that ancient writers customarily joined words and sentences together in unbroken lines, and the earliest Greek uncials extant reveal that punctuation marks were few and were used most sparingly by copyists, if at all. We must therefore assume that this was the circ*mstance of the original autographs of the New Testament. While, in the nature of the case, it has been necessary for textual critics to insert punctuation marks as the text seems to require, such procedure must be done with all possible caution and restraint, for it inevitably constitutes interpretation. Justification must be found for every insertion of punctuation, especially of a mark as critically significant as a full stop. And justification must be sought in the language of the text, rather than in one’s theology. It is at this point that we must reject Chafer’s assumption (which is not shared, to our knowledge, by any textual critic) that “it is allowable to place a full stop after the word death (v.22) and to begin a new part of the sentence with the next word Even as his argument frankly discloses, Chafer’s assumption stems from the requirements of his theology; and it is completely contrary to the requirements of the language of the text. While his “arrangement” does not “change any words,” it divides a coherent sentence into two parts, the first of which remains an acceptable sentence, but the second of which is merely a dangling, incoherent conglomeration of words beginning with an infinitive and lacking any subject. We must insist that it is not at all allowable to insert periods in the text of the holy Scriptures merely because we find that dividing a sentence will “rescue” a text from negating our theology.

Chafer’s “arrangement” involves him in a serious erroneous assumption. He asserts that “holy and blameless and above reproach before him” are

...words which imply human responsibility and faithfulness. It naturally follows that, in the light of this responsibility, all depends upon those believers. This feature of the context is augmented by the further declaration: “if ye continue in the faith [Christian doctrine] grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard” (vs.

Chafer’s argument demands that we assume that the blessed circ*mstance of appearing before God “holy and blameless and above reproach” is actually a matter of personal endeavor and attainment, a matter of spiritual growth and development, a personal achievement in which “all depends upon the

However, contrary to Chafer’s assumption, the blessed circ*mstance of appearing before God “holy and blameless and above reproach” is not a matter of human achievement; it is the exalted privilege of believers “by grace, through faith.” It is the gracious consequence of the imputation of “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all the ones believing” (Romans 3:22, The happy circ*mstance of appearing before God “holy and blameless and above reproach” is part of God’s gracious salvation for undeserving sinners saved “not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5). Chafer has woefully misconstrued the work of God as being the work of man. His assumption is erroneous, and his whole contention is without foundation.

Chafer concludes his discussion of Colossians 1:21–23 by declaring, “No more complete statement of God’s work for man will be found than Colossians 2:10: ‘And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.’” 16 Chafer, of course, regards Paul’s words as descriptive of a static relationship between Christ and the believer that is irrevocable, despite any and all eventualities. He apparently ignores the significance of the grave warnings that surround verse 10: “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments” (v.4), influencing them to abandon “the firmness of your faith in Christ” (v.5). “Be watching-out that there will not be anyone taking you captive through philosophy and empty deception” (v.8, by leading them astray from the true gospel and simple faith in Christ in whom, alone, “[we] have been filled in him” (v.10). Those who sought to persuade them to become preoccupied with “shadows” rather than with Christ himself (vv. 16, 17), would, if successful, “‘disqualify’ them from their spiritual prize (cf. 1Corinthians 9:24; Philippians and thus, cause them, like themselves, to turn to the worship of angels, no longer holding fast (in faith) to the Head, Christ (vv. 18, 19).

The warnings are urgent in this book, and Colossians 1:23 is one of them as commentators have David Garland writes:

This conclusion also contains a warning. If believers are to be holy, without blemish, and free from accusation in the future, they must remain steadfast in the faith in the present. They cannot take their new status for granted, be nonchalant about its responsibilities, or be fooled into thinking that other avenues to God exist. Christ alone offers the solution to human alienation in the world.... The promise of blamelessness is, therefore, not unconditional. If the Colossians allow outsiders to dislodge them from their foundation in the gospel ... they will find themselves removed from their

In Christ, alone, is all we need for time and for eternity. We are complete in Him. But let us heed the many warnings against the peril of turning aside from Him who is our hope, our peace, and our life. We dare not ignore the fateful contingency with which Paul confronts us: God, who has reconciled us to Himself through the death of His Son, will ultimately present us “holy and blameless and above reproach” in His own holy we continue in faith, stable and steadfast, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel that we have Robert Wall summarizes well Paul’s teaching:

His exhortation to them [in v.23] expresses a condition of their reconciliation, which includes both a positive and a negative element. This exhortation has caused problems for those who think of Paul’s idea of salvation in terms of God’s unconditional grace. However, Paul’s understanding of God’s salvation is profoundly Jewish and therefore covenantal. The promise of the community’s final justification is part of a covenant between God and the “true” Israel. Even the idea of God’s faithfulness to a promise made is modified by the ideals of a covenantal relationship: God’s fulfillment is conditioned upon a particular response. According to Paul’s gospel, getting into the faith community, which has covenanted with God for salvation, requires the believer’s confidence in the redemptive merit of Christ’s death (as defined in vv. 21–22). And staying in that community requires the believer to keep the faith. Paul does not teach a “once saved, always saved” kind of religion; nor does he understand faith as a “once for all” decision for Christ. In fact, apostasy (loss of faith) imperils one’s relationship with God and with the community that has covenanted with God for salvation. So he writes that the community’s eschatological fitness holds if you continue in your faith.... The negative ingredient of the passage envisions the very real possibility that the community may indeed from the hope held out in the risking God’s negative verdict at Christ’s parousia [i.e. second

Paul’s belief that apostasy (loss of faith) imperils one’s covenantal relationship with God through Christ finds additional support in his letter to Christians in Rome.

If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches [from among the Jewish people] were broken off, and you [Gentile believers], being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches [or “do not boast over the branches,” but if you are arrogant [or “if you boast,” remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited [“arrogant,” “proud,” but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? (Romans 11:16–24,

Paul’s argument here likely contributes to his later concern for fostering unity between Jew and Gentile believers (14:1–15:13). However, while there is general agreement among scholars that these broken-off branches represent unbelieving and the cultivated olive tree represents “the people of God” (believing Jews and Gentiles), and the wild olive branches grafted into the olive tree are believing Gentiles, “there is no consensus on the question of what Paul means by the root of the

Since “Paul refers to the root (ἡ ῤίζα four times in the description of the (11:16, 17, 18 [twice]), it would seem to be important to identify in Paul’s imagery. Of the various proposals that have been made, we have found Svetlana Khobnya’s the most She argues that the root of the tree is likely (see Romans 15:12), and this Christological understanding best fits the context and Paul’s overall teaching in This Christological reading “is supported by some early Fathers and by Barth, Ellison, Hanson, and “N.T. Wright argues that if the tree illustrates the people of God, “the people stretching back to Abraham and now including both Gentiles and Jews ... the Messiah (most probably) is the ‘root’ through whom the tree now gets its life (v.17), the one who holds the whole thing in place, enabling Gentile members to gain life

Whether one takes another view on “the root” does not change the fact that Paul delivers a sober warning to Gentile Christians “about the danger of boasting and Boasting and pride is out of place when Christ, the root of the tree, nourishes and sustains the people of God comprised of both Jew and Gentile Boasting and pride is utterly out of place when Gentiles acknowledge that their present salvific standing with God through Christ was made possible when God worked through the Jewish people of old to bring forth a Jewish Messiah (“salvation is from the Jews,” John 4:22). Furthermore, the kind and gracious nature of God’s dealings with human beings (so Abraham, Romans 4) excludes all boasting. “It is faith, and faith alone—characterized by humility and receptivity—that is the only way to establish or to maintain a relationship with God To further deflate Gentile Christian pride, Paul writes:

You [i.e., Gentile Christians] will say then, “Branches [i.e., some Jews] were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited [“proud,” but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. Behold [“Consider,” then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell [via unbelief], severity, but to you [sing.], God’s kindness, if you [sing.] continue in His kindness [via otherwise you [sing.] also will be cut (Romans 11:19–22,

Paul warns Gentile Christians to stop boasting (v.18) and to replace their pride with “fear” (v.20), but who and what are these Christians to fear? The context points to Gentile believers fearing While all Christians should have a healthy reverential fear of God as their Creator, in this context the fear suggests since Gentile Christians “stand on the brink of “terror at the prospect of being cut off” from God and His people through

However, if Paul believed in unconditional eternal security, and knows it is impossible for Christians to be cut off through unbelief, why did he command them to fear that which he knows can never take place? Such a command only makes sense if Paul believed that being cut off was a real possibility. Furthermore, since Paul asserts as fact that “some” ethnic Israelites (v.17) have already been cut off due to unbelief, then it necessarily follows (if his warning is to be taken seriously from that some Gentile Christians could wind up being severed from God’s covenant people through unbelief manifested in sinful

Gentile Christians should not only fear God, but carefully consider both God’s kindness and severity, as Schreiner notes:

They should consider his severity upon the Jews [in cutting them off] not because they were better than the Jews but because the same fate would fall on them if they did not continue in God’s kindness. They should also reflect on God’s kindness to them ... because this would remind them that their inclusion in the people of God was all due to grace.... What would motivate them to persevere in faith was reflection upon God’s kindness and The kindness of God cannot be truly appreciated as a gift of his grace unless the severity of God is contemplated as the just penalty for forsaking

The need to persevere in faith to avoid God’s severity is forcefully stressed with the closing words of verse 22: “if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off” To continue in God’s kindness “means to continue to trust his kindness and grace as embodied in the saving work of This kindness of God “is not simply a past act or automatic benefit on which the believer can rest secure; it is also a continuing relationship in which the believer must If a believer fails to remain in God’s kindness through a humble and persevering then they will become unbelievers and be “cut off” the olive tree like the unbelieving ethnic from the people of God united in Christ who are being saved by faith from first to last (Romans 1:16–17; cf. 1Corinthians 1:18,

These verses emphatically support the conditional security of the “Just as becoming saved is conditioned upon faith, staying saved is conditioned upon continuing to Furthermore, “The possibility of believers ‘falling away’ ... apostatizing, is one which Paul certainly did not exclude. On the contrary, he reckoned with it in all

Calvinist commentators are hard pressed in being able to explain how this warning passage fits with their “perseverance of the saints.” Calvinist William Hendriksen concludes from verse 22 that God’s kindness is “not unconditional. It requires genuine faith on man’s Yet, somehow, this verse does not suggest that those who have been saved can apostatize (i.e., stop trusting and become unbelievers). Jack Cottrell (1998: 262) asks: “But how could anyone believe that salvation is truly conditional, and at the same time deny the possibility of falling away?” The Calvinist answer follows this line of While sinners are required by God to place their faith in Jesus as a condition to become saved, this technically means that salvation is conditional. However, for the Calvinist it is God who unconditionally decides who will trust in Him and who will not. God irresistibly gives the gift of faith to the elect, and He withholds it from the non-elect. Once faith is given, it is the person who trusts in God, not God, doing the trusting. Thus, in this framework, the condition for becoming saved is fulfilled by the person.

Hendriksen follows this line of thinking when he writes,

[Romans 11:22] must not be understood in the sense that God will supply the kindness, man the faith. Salvation is ever God’s [irresistible] gift [for some—the elect]. It is never a 50-50 affair. From start to finish it is the [irresistible] work of God. But this does not remove human responsibility. God does not exercise faith for man or in his place. It is and remains man who reposes his trust in God, but it is God who both [irresistibly] imparts this faith to him and enables [or more accurately: irresistibly him to use it....

There is a sound, biblical sense, therefore, in which we can speak about salvation as being Its reception is conditioned on the life of trust in the Triune God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ unto salvation and ultimately unto his own glory. This “if” character of salvation is very important.... Note ... “if” in such passages as Deuteronomy 30:10; 1Kings 8:47–50; Jeremiah 18:5–10; Colossians 1:21–23; Hebrews 3:6, 14. And is not a similar “if” implied in many other passages, including Matthew 11:28–30; John 3:16; Revelation 22:17? Absolute, unconditional promises, guaranteeing salvation to either Gentiles or Jews, no matter how they live exist only in people’s imaginations, not in Scripture. Even if the condition is not always mentioned, for every responsible, thinking, individual it is always

Since Hendriksen believes that God irresistibly imparts faith to a person and irresistibly makes such persons to persevere in fulfilling the condition for salvation from start to finish, then it naturally follows that such persons are assured of never being “cut off” from salvation due to God’s irresistible work. We cannot help but agree with Cottrell that “such explanations are nothing but theological double-talk. To say that this is a ‘sound, biblical sense’ in which salvation is conditional, and that such a system ‘does not remove human responsibility,’ is a God has set conditions for salvation, and the Calvinist could agree with this initially, but “then he declares that God unconditionally decides who will meet the conditions,” i.e., the elect, and then irresistibly them to meet these In this storyline, there is “no conditionality and human responsibility in any normal sense of these If God sovereignly and irresistibly gives only the elect the initial faith to be saved, and persevering faith to remain saved, “what is the purpose of warnings in the Bible, such as the one in As Cottrell sees it, any attempts “to harmonize the ‘if’ in 11:22 ... with any ‘once saved, always saved’ amount to more Unless there is a genuine possibility that this warning may be disregarded by a genuine believer, then it is not a warning at all, and its very presence in the Bible is

The conditional warning in Romans 11:19–22 is real and must be taken seriously. Likewise, the conditional promise in verses 23–24 is real and must be taken seriously:

And they also, if they [some Jewish unbelievers] do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in [via faith], for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree [via faith]? (Romans 11:23–24,

Cottrell makes the excellent observation:

The focus in vv. 23–24 will shift to the fallen Jews, but at this point we may note that the conditional promise about Jewish unbelievers in v. 23a is parallel in every way to the conditional warning about Gentile believers in v. 22b. If we cannot take the warning seriously, why should we take the promise seriously? If we say that v. 22 does not imply that an actual falling away can take place, must we not assume that v.23 does not mean that any fallen Jews will actually be saved? But no one would ever consider the latter. Here is a statement by [John] Stott (301): “After this warning to Gentile believers against pride and presumption, Paul is ready with his promise to Jewish unbelievers. His argument is that if those grafted in could be cut off, then those cut off could be grafted in again.” Just so! But the “once saved, always saved” doctrine completely destroys the symmetry between the two conditions and leaves the latter open to doubt. Indeed, Stott himself says of the warning in v. 22, “Not that those who truly belong to him will ever be rejected...”! However, I have yet to see him or anyone else say of v.23, “Not that those Jews who truly rejected him will ever be

From Romans 11:16–24, we can see “The destinies of unbelieving Israel and believing Gentiles are not permanently God severed some ethnic Israelites from the people of God due to unbelief, and Gentile Christians are warned that the same judgment could fall on them as well. The only basis for being confident about one’s relational standing with God is through a living faith that constantly depends upon the loving kindness of God embodied in the saving work of Jesus, our crucified, resurrected Lord and Savior. Every Christian is called to exhibit a healthy fear of God and maintain a humble faith in God through Christ if they are to remain savingly connected to God and His covenant people through Jesus, the Messiah.

Is it not time to begin heeding the many solemn warnings of our Savior and the apostles, instead of “explaining” them into total irrelevance through unlikely interpretations or deftly circumventing them by theological hypothesis? And some of us may well ask ourselves, Shall we continue to avoid preaching to our congregations the urgent warnings that Paul and others so faithfully sounded to believers in their day?

“expresses active persistence, i.e., perseverance, rather than mere passive continuance” (Harris 2010: 54). Thayer 240: persevere,

“not moved away from the hope of the gospel” (cf.

CJB reads: “provided, of course, that you continue in your trusting (v. 23a).”

the whole ... it might be preferable to take v. 23 as referring to the need to continue in belief” (Moo 2008: 145; cf. Merkle 2019: 133). Baptist E. Y. Mullins (1935: 62) says Paul understands faith here, and elsewhere, “as a personal relation of trust in Jesus Christ.” Paul’s “warning implies that a saving faith in Christ involves an ongoing trust in Christ” (Dongell 2020: 811). McKnight (2018: 177–178) writes: “Saving faith ... is persevering faith, and without persevering faith there is no [final] salvation.... Paul is not a one-and-done theologian, he believes faith is a lifelong act of trust empowered by grace (see Rom 11:22–23; 1 Tim 4:16).”

Sumney (2008: 87) observes: “The verb epimenō (to remain) often takes a dative that designates a disposition (e.g., Rom 6:1; 11:22, 23). Since tē pistei [‘the faith’] is a dative, it probably refers to the disposition of faithfulness here: ‘if you remain faithful.’ This seems to imply that the Colossians have already expressed faithfulness in some ways and must now express that manner of life in their rejection of false teaching.”

a classical Calvinist to say “God’s people are responsible to persevere in their faith” “so that they will be vindicated” or saved on Judgment Day is strange in light of their theology. God decides who will be saved out of the mass of sinners in the world. God first irresistibly saves or regenerates the chosen sinner, and then, due to this irresistible grace, the saved sinner cannot do anything but trust in His Son, Jesus. Those whom God has unconditionally chosen to be saved are assured by God’s irresistible grace that they will remain saved (by trusting in Jesus) right up until Judgment Day. Since God’s people in Calvinism are not responsible for becoming neither are they responsible for persevering in faith in order to remain saved. God does all the saving from first to last via irresistible grace and makes it impossible for believers to become unbelievers. The logical outgrowth of Calvinism appears to make human responsibility an illusion.

1988: 390.

Moo 2008: 145; Meyer 1885: 250.

always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel” (Colossians 1:3–5).

205–206. McKnight (2018: 179) rightly sees the word hope as “pointing the Colossians at future, final, and eternal salvation as glimpsed in an inaugurated fashion now (Col 1:27; 3:1–4).” This hope of the Gospel is explicitly tied to a person and final salvation with Him, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27); “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4,

1947: 3:307.

charge is unfair. It cannot be established from the writings of Arminius that he believed or taught that “the work of God for man depends on man’s work for God.” He did deny that the Scriptures teach that salvation is thrust upon some and denied to others unconditionally. He rejected Calvinism’s doctrines of limited atonement, unconditional election, and irresistible grace. He taught that God graciously enables all sinners to respond in faith to God’s redemptive love revealed in Christ, and he holds them accountable for their response of faith or unbelief. This is quite a different matter from teaching that “the work of God for man depends on man’s work for God.” For those interested in knowing what Arminius and other classical Arminians actually believed and taught, see the excellent books Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace by Keith Stanglin and Thomas McCall; and Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities by Roger Olson.

1947: 3:307 f.

1947: 3:307, brackets his.

find Chafer’s thinking misguided in light of the New Testament’s consistent emphasis on God’s grace, which precedes and enables any human response toward Him such as faith and repentance. In this context, a believer will be presented before God on Judgment Day “holy and blameless and above reproach,” because they have continued to place their faith in Christ crucified. However, since we affirm that any response of faith is enabled by God’s grace revealed in Christ (i.e., His incarnation, death, and resurrection); the Scriptures; and through the convicting work of the Spirit; it is not a human achievement to stand before God in final salvation “holy and blameless and above reproach,” but salvation by grace through faith from first to last. Paul Taylor notes that Markus Barth acknowledged “in Calvin’s, Luther’s and all careful Protestant writings faith has never been considered a meritorious good work” (2004: 84 and fn. 79).

1947: 3:308.

2006: 318. “Disqualify” means: decide as umpire against one, to declare him unworthy of the prize; to defraud of the prize of victory ... metaph. to deprive of Colossians 2:18” (Thayer 330; cf. BDAG 515). Ralph Martin (1972: 91) says, “It is couched as a warning lest his readers should allow themselves to be cheated out of their prize (see Phil. 3:14 for ‘prize,’ which lies at the heart of Paul’s verb here) by heeding the false teachers who offered a substitute for his gospel a system of religion which was the product of their own minds.”

gives a “warning” here in 1:23—“They can fall away from God’s grace if, for example, they allow their heretical brethren in Colossae to undermine their simple trust in the gospel of God’s grace” (Hunter 1959: 127). Paul “is concerned about the danger of theological infidelity and moral or spiritual apostasy, a concern brought on by the influence of the Colossians philosophy on some in the Colossian church” (Witherington 2007: 141).

1998: 95–97. So Still (2006: 297):

Paul does not presuppose, however, that the Colossians’ final spiritual standing before God is a given. The “if [indeed]” with which v. 23 ... interjects a degree of contingency and a note of conditionality. Even if Paul can presently rejoice in the good order and stability of the Colossians’ faith (1:4–5; 2:5), he does not assume that they cannot deviate or be diverted from “the hope held out in the gospel” (cf. 1:28; 4:12). Indeed, a purpose for which Paul wrote Colossians was to warn the congregation of the negative spiritual consequences of supplementing or abandoning their received faith. Paul clearly believed that God would empower and enable the Colossians to stand firm in the gospel (1:11). In Paul’s theological understanding, however, divine provision does not preclude human responsibility.

(2008: 87) states,

[The writer] ... uses three words to depict the faithfulness the readers need if they are to retain their state of reconciliation with God. They must (1) remain firmly upon the foundation ... that was already laid, (2)remain there “steadfast” or “immovable,” and (3)“not be moved.” The repetition of the injunction with the three relatively synonymous ideas makes the statement emphatic. The readers must not shift in the least from the teaching they have already received ... or they risk losing the reconciliation and forgiveness they enjoy through that gospel.

1993: 81–82.

“unbelieving ethnic Israelites” (Kingswood Hart article: “Romans 11:17–24—Can unbelieving ethnic Israelites still be saved? Can a believer stop believing?” at https://predestinationstation.wordpress.com/2015/09/02/romans-1117-24-can-unbelieving-ethnic-israelites-still-be-saved/) (From hereafter: Kingswood Hart 2015).

2013: 259.

the history of interpreting the “root,” Khobnya (2013: 259–262) identifies the following explanations. The root represents: (1) “Israel giving rise to Christianity;” (2) “the patriarchs, especially Abraham;” (3) “the converted remnant, the ‘elect;’” and (4) “Christ.”

Hart (2015) agrees:

All believers benefit from the ‘nourishing which represents Christ—the source of life for all believers. The metaphor is similar to that of John 15:1–11, where Jesus says ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers’ (verses 5–6). Language such as the “vine” or the “olive tree” is used of Israel in the Old Testament. Jesus, as the ‘root of Jesse’ (Romans 15:12), is the ultimate fulfilment of this.

in particular, Khobnya 2013: 262–273. “It is surely significant that in the only other place, apart from this passage in Rom. 11, where Paul uses [root] it means Christ” (Hanson 1974: 117). Since the original recipients of this letter would have had someone read it out loud in one setting, it is unlikely that the readers would have missed Paul linking “the root” to Christ later in 15:12: “And again Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.’” “In the context of Israel’s history, ‘the root’ could hardly mean anything else to Paul but the Messiah” (Hanson 1974: 117). This observation, combined with the emphasis Paul places on trusting in Jesus in the letter (Romans 3:22–26; 4:24; 9:33; 10:4, 9–11), persuades us that “the root” most likely refers to Jesus, the Messiah.

2013: 261.

2013: 269.

1998: 605.

Hart (2015) helpfully explains:

Before the time of Jesus’ resurrection, most of the “branches” of this olive tree were ethnic Israelites, though there were some Gentile believers who shared in Abraham’s faith. Given this, as well as Jesus’ ethnic heritage and the promises made to Abraham, the olive tree could therefore be described as a Jewish (i.e. ethnic Israelite) tree. At the time of Paul’s writing, many Gentiles were becoming believers, and the believing ethnic Israelites in the olive tree were becoming outnumbered. There was a risk that the Gentiles could become arrogant, thinking that the time of the ethnic Israelites had come to an end, and that the Gentiles were now taking over. Paul’s message to the believing Gentiles, who have been grafted in to the olive tree, is that they shouldn’t be arrogant towards the natural branches of the tree, i.e. the believing ethnic Israelites. The Gentiles should remember that they have graciously been allowed to join a family that they don’t naturally belong to, so they shouldn’t be arrogant towards those who were there before them. Paul reminds the Gentiles that their presence in the spiritual people of God relies on Christ, who upholds his people. They are not in the olive tree by their own strength, and they must not stop relying on Christ for their presence in the olive tree, even as their numbers continue to increase.

In Romans 15:26–27, Paul provides a real-life example of the attitude that Gentile believers should have toward ethnic Israelite believers. Gentile believers from Macedonia and Achaia made a financial contribution to the struggling ethnic Israelite believers in Jerusalem. These Gentiles understood that Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings,” and therefore felt that they owed their financial support to the ethnic Israelite believers.

1996: 705.

308: persist, continue, ... (so as not to fall from thy faith...), Ro. 11:20.” “Gentiles only ‘stand by means of faith’” (Schreiner 1998: 607). The perfect tense for “stand” “has the force of past action resulting in a continuing state maintained by the faith through which the past action was brought about.... Paul of course means ‘faith’ as he has defined it on chap 4 = dependent trust in God” (Dunn 1988b: 663).

how Paul uses the personal-singular address (“you”) in verses 21–22, which gives “the warning more pressure” (Reasoner 2002: 474, fn. 70). “This warning cannot be explained, therefore, as a warning against corporate apostasy. Paul is warning individuals.” (Reasoner 2002: 477).

(1988b: 675) says “to ‘continue in God’s kindness’ (v 22) is obviously synonymous with ‘standing in faith’ (v 20) and the opposite of ‘continuing in unbelief’ (v 23).”

solemn words of the apostle remind us of the words of Jesus: ‘Every Branch in me not bearing fruit, he cuts it out’ (Jn 15:2a); ‘If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as the branch’ (Jn 15:6a)” (Mickelsen 1962: 565–566).

fear is a natural and necessary component in the life of faith” (Franzmann 1968: 205).

1998: 259; Osborne 2004: 299–300.

1998: 259. “Gentiles should not get high-minded but should fear God and realize that they are not beyond apostasy...” (Witherington 2004: 272).

1998: 259. So Osborne 2004: 299–300.

doctrine of ‘perseverance of the saints’ which does not include the lessons of salvation-history has lost its biblical perspective” (Dunn 1988b: 664).

Zmijewski states that “Paul also wants to warn Gentile Christians that they, too, will meet the same fate as the fallen Jew: Because of ‘pride’ (v. 20b) they, too, will be ‘cut off’ if they do not ‘continue in this kindness,’ i.e., stand fast in faith (cf. v. 20a)” 3:476–477). Middendorf (2016: 1126, fn. 147) writes: “Moo, 707, n. 57, asks whether ‘a genuine Christian can lose his faith and thus be eternally condemned’ and admits that ‘certainly it is possible to infer this from Paul’s warning.’ That is indeed the reason for Paul’s warning, as he elaborates in 11:21–22!” “In Romans 11:21–24, Paul warns the gentile readers that they too could be snapped from the tree of God’s people if they waver into unbelief. This passage is one of the many texts in Paul that are a problem for the once-saved-always-saved theology ([see also] 14:15, 20)” (Keown 2021: 141).

1998: 608. It should be noted that Schreiner does not believe that a Christian can forsake God through unbelief. Therefore, if he is to be consistent with his view, no Christian could truly appreciate God’s grace and kindness because God’s severity (i.e., the threat of being cut off) cannot be “contemplated” as a real possibility for them. Furthermore, the motivation to persevere in faith can only be in “reflection” upon God’s kindness, since His severity does not apply to those who cannot forsake God.

1998: 261.

1996: 706.

Romans, faith/trusting in the Lord Jesus (or God the Father who raised him from the dead) leads to: salvation (Romans 1:16; 10:9); righteousness/right standing with God (Romans 3:22; 4:3, 5, 11, 24; 10:10); and not being being put to shame before God on judgment day Schreiner 1998: 561; Moo 1996: 659] (Romans 9:33; 10:11). As noted earlier, Paul says those being saved by God are those who continue to trust in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18, 21).

(2002: 474) observes that “just as Jesus warned in John 15:6 that one connected to him, but who did not abide [through trusting, John 6:56] will be cut off, taken away, and burned, so here Paul warns that those who are grafted into Christ may be cut off [via unbelief].” Kingswood Hart (2015): “The continual presence of the believing Gentiles in the olive tree depends on their continual trusting in Christ. If they stop trusting in Christ, they will be broken off the tree.... [This refers to] a Christian, with real faith, [but who] later falls away and no longer has this faith and is therefore no longer a Christian.” “Paul has made very clear that he believes apostasy happens. Persons do not remain saved unless they remain or stand in and on their faith” (Witherington 2004: 275).

1998: 261. “[For Paul] perseverance is a Christian responsibility rather than an unconditional promise” (Dunn 1988b: 665).

1998: 261. “Saving faith is not simply one moment of belief; it must be maintained. Those who did believe are warned that they will be cut off if they cease to believe” (Reasoner 2002: 477). “Their continued salvation depends on continued believing” (Forlines 1987: 311).

1988b: 664. So Cottrell 1998: 261; Philippi 1879: 212; Oropeza 2000: 200.

1981: 375

what follows, we are paraphrasing Cottrell 1998: 262.

1981: 375. “There are no promises of final salvation but such as have conditions, either expressed or implied” (J. Wallace 1855: 86).

1998: 262.

1998: 263.

“knows nothing of salvation based on ... once-saved-always-saved security” (Greathouse & Lyons 2008: 2:105).

attempt to reconcile this warning with once-saved-always-saved theology is to argue that if a person does get “cut off” (v. 22), then “they were never saved to begin with.” The most obvious problem with this view is that Paul specifically says, “You [i.e., the Gentile Christian] stand by faith,” in v. 20, and it is only this Christian who could get “cut off” through unbelief. Thus, “they were never saved to begin with” is not an interpretive option in this context.

1998: 263.

1998: 264. Cf. Kingswood Hart 2015. We would state the symmetry between the conditional warning (v. 22) and promise (v. 23) in the following matter. Paul taught two possibilities: (1) it is possible for a Gentile believer to become an unbeliever and be cut off from the tree—the people of God united (by faith) with Christ, the root of the tree, and (2) it is possible for an unbelieving ethnic Israelite to become a believer and be grafted back into the tree—the people of God united (by faith) with Christ, the root of the tree.

2012a: 193. “Thus for Paul, faith and unbelief are decisive responses to the gospel, but they are not necessarily permanent states: unbelief may turn to faith, and faith must persevere” (Taylor 2004: 167).

SEVEN

Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 1)

Christians long have been divided over the question of whether a believer, once saved, can subsequently become an unbeliever and forfeit salvation. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, popularly defined as “once saved, always saved,” has been championed with fervor by millions of sincere Christians and devout Bible scholars. It has been opposed with equal fervor by other millions equally sincere and devout.

Unfortunately, Christian charity often has been cast aside in the fervor of contention by good people on both sides. It should not be so. Some Christian communions have demonstrated that the question need not be made a test of fellowship, and that Christians of goodwill of both persuasions can unite in proclaiming the saving grace of God in Christ. Nevertheless, the question of the validity of the popular doctrine of unconditional security is of more than academic interest. One cannot lightly accept or reject a doctrine of such magnitude.

In any consideration of the question before us, our real concern must be, “What do the Scriptures say?” In all their teaching, our Lord and the apostles constantly appealed to the holy Scriptures. To them must be addressed our first and final appeal in our consideration of the doctrine of the security of the believer.

In the next two chapters we shall consider several discourses of Jesus, the first of which is our Lord’s interpretation of His Parable of the

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no they believe lit. “are believing,” for a while, and in time of fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience [or “endurance,” “perseverance,” (Luke 8:11–15)

Let us make two observations concerning the words of our Lord. First, it is possible for one to believe only temporarily (v.13). We are confronted, of course, with the question of what is meant by the word believe The word pisteuō possesses latitude. In the New Testament, the word is “used especially of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus, i.e., a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the But it is true that the word can be used with reference to a conviction that falls short of the faith that actually appropriates Christ as Savior (cf. James 2:19, where demons “believe” that God is one and “tremble with fear,”

Context, necessarily a major consideration in any exegesis, must be relied upon to establish the precise meaning of “believe” in verse 13. The use of the word in verse 12 establishes its meaning as it is employed in the parable. It is clearly a believing that would have resulted in salvation: “so that they may not believe and be There is no contextual warrant for assigning a different meaning to the word as it appears in verse 13. Therefore, those who believe for a while are necessarily “Christian converts who are initially saved but do not persevere through temptations or times of

These newly saved converts eventually away, or under “The Greek verb is related to the noun that means ‘apostasy’; it means to abandon, to defect, to forsake. Here it is to lose faith in the Christian message, to quit This does not negate the fact that their believing, while it existed, was actual saving faith. They were once saved for a while since they were believing for a while, but now they are no longer saved since they stopped believing (i.e., committed

The second observation we would make concerning our Savior’s parable is that those who “bear fruit with perseverance are those who, “hearing the word, hold it fast (v.15) in contrast with those who believe only “for a while.” “This last word strikes the keynote of the Perseverance is “the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from ... his loyalty to faith ... by even the greatest trials and People must not only but and persevere (by faith) in holding fast to the saving message from Christ. It seems clear that this “parable does not teach that people will infallibly persevere in faith; it simply describes the fact that there are people who do” and people who do It definitely stresses that “saving faith is persevering

Luke’s readers would not have missed the importance of persevering in faith in a later teaching of Jesus that involves a time of testing.

The same word for perseverance [in Luke 8:15] ... is found again in [Luke] 21:5–37 where Jesus affirms to his disciples that, despite upcoming persecutions, “not a hair on your head will perish, for by your you will gain your (21:18–19; cf. 21:36). This is not a promise that they will be physically protected; he had just mentioned that some of them would be killed (21:16–17). Rather, those who endure the upcoming trial related to the end times may lose their physical life through martyrdom, but they will be spiritually unharmed. Those who lose their physical life for the sake of Jesus will save it for life

We should add that when Jesus was told later in Luke chapter 8: “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” He responded, “My mother and My brothers are these—the ones hearing and doing the word of God” (8:20–21, A few chapters later Jesus said, “Blessed are the ones hearing the word of God and keeping it” (Luke 11:27–28, Jesus also declared in John 8:51, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death”—“spiritual death, of

Paul warns the Corinthians that, by means of the gospel they received when he preached to them, they “are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you” (1Corinthians James urges his brothers and sisters to continue to “receive with meekness the implanted which is able to save your souls” (James John warns his dear children in the faith against the efforts of false teachers to lead them astray through false doctrines, and delivers this exhortation: “what you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Now this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life” (1John 2:24–25, cf. 1Timothy 4:11–16; 2Timothy 3:13–15; Colossians

It is the testimony of our Savior and the New Testament writers that an initial reception of the word of the Gospel must be followed by faithful retention, if people are to remain saved and partakers of the eternal life of God in Christ.

II.

Here we will examine several related teachings from Jesus in the gospel of Matthew that are directed to His disciples about the dangers of apostasy. Before doing so, two preliminary comments are in order.

First, you will notice that in Matthew the verb skandalizō (“fall away from figures prominently in these warning Second, the word skandalizō is contextually equivalent to the word aphistēmi away, become This is evident when you compare the parallel passage on the Parable of the Sower:

this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,

yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while,

and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word,

immediately he falls away (Matthew 13:20–21, cf. Mark 4:17)

But these have no root; they believe for a while,

and in time of testing fall away (Luke 8:13b)

Times of tribulation or persecution will test one’s faith in Jesus, and such pressures can lead a believer to stop trusting in Jesus and become an apostate (i.e., an unbeliever). Jesus issued a similar warning to His disciples later in Matthew:

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow But the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:9–13; cf. 10:17–23; John 15:18–16:4)

To endure is to absolutely and emphatically, under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in When faced with impending tribulation, death, and deception, the disciple of Jesus has two options: “losing faith and falling away from God or persevering in faith to the very end and being “The context of apostasy suggests that it [i.e., ‘will be saved’] here refers to what it does in other NT passages, namely, that only those who continue in the faith will receive salvation at the final Indeed, according to Jesus...

The eschatological forecast is bleak: many Christians will be deceived and become apostate [i.e., unbelievers]. They will turn away from Jesus’ command to love God and love their neighbor as themselves; they will “hate one another” instead. The followers of Jesus must therefore persevere in faith to the end of the age or the end of their physical life, whichever comes first. Failure to do so would constitute apostasy and loss of eternal

Persecution and deception are not the only catalysts for leading believers to falling away into unbelief. Sinful desires, if left unchecked by repentance, can lead to apostasy as well. Jesus gives such a warning to His disciples in His Sermon on the

You heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I am telling you that everyone who looks on a woman in order to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Now if your right eye causes you to fall away from God, gouge it out and throw it from you, for it is better that one of your body parts perish than your whole body be thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to fall away from God, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better that one of your body parts perish than that your whole body be thrown into Gehenna. (Matthew

Grant Osborne notes that “Adultery to the Jews meant sexual relations outside of marriage, primarily by a married person. Jesus generalizes it to refer to all who have sexual relations outside of Here Jesus says the sin of adultery can occur in the and this can readily manifest itself in our day with watching p*rnography on the The Greek verb for looks (present tense) “indicates a studied looking with sexual To avoid this sin, Jesus uses the illustration of gouging the eye out and cutting off the hand. This demands purposeful and decisive actions that remove “the source of The reason such drastic action is to be taken is because sin can lead a believer into committing “moral apostasy” (falling away, that is, to cause a believer to become an unbeliever and wind up in hell on judgment Therefore, Jesus stresses to His disciples that since their “eternal destiny” is at stake in dealing with lust, they must sever all ties with the causes of lust before it leads to destroying their saving relationship with

III.

The next discourse of Jesus we shall consider is His parable of the lord and His manager. “The parable exhorts the disciples to conduct responsible, faithful It is connected to Jesus’ parable about being ready for His return (Luke 12:35–41). Jesus illustrates to His disciples in Luke 12:42–46 what readiness looks like and does not look like for those who are His servants.

The Lord said [to his disciples], “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master will put in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing so when he comes. Truly I tell you: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is staying away for a long time.’ And he begins to beat the male and female servants, to eat and drink and become drunk, then the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he was not expected and at an hour that his servant does not know. The master will cut him in two and assign him a place with the unbelievers better: “unfaithful,” (Luke 12:42–46,

It has been argued by some that the unfaithful servant of verses 45 and 46 was never a true disciple, but only a hypocrite from the beginning and the Lord’s sudden appearance simply brings to an end his false pretension of discipleship. Such an argument rests on two false assumptions:

First, it must be assumed that two different servants are in view in the parable, one of whom proves faithful, and the other of whom proves unfaithful. But Jesus did not speak of two servants. Rather, He spoke only of “that servant” doulos in verses 43, 45, 46. The demonstrative pronoun “that” is emphatic. Language forbids any assumption that more than one servant is in view in the parable.

The second false assumption on which the argument of original hypocrisy must rest is the assumption that the master was unaware of the true character of His manager at the time of his appointing, being deceived by his hypocrisy. This might happen in the affairs of ordinary men; but it cannot happen to our Savior, who is the master in view in the parable. While it is true that many pretend to be servants of Christ who do not know and follow Him as Savior and Lord, it is equally true that Christ Himself cannot personally entrust responsibilities in His holy service to men who are not His. And it is ever true that “the Lord knows those who are his” (2Timothy 2:19).

It is obvious that Jesus’ parable has no application to men who do not know Him as Savior and Lord, and who have not sincerely undertaken to follow and serve Him. His parable concerns only men who know Him and to whom He commits solemn responsibilities as His true disciples.

A correct analysis of the parable is as follows:

The Question (v.42, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager” whom his Lord will reward for giving His servants “their food allowance at the proper

The Answer (v.43, “that servant whom his master will find doing so when he

The Reward (v.44, “He will put him in charge of all his possessions.”

The Peril (v.45, “That servant” may act irresponsibly and unfaithfully during his master’s long absence by beating other servants and getting drunk.

The Penalty (v.46, The master will come unexpectedly and will cut him in two and assign him a place with the unfaithful/unbelievers. The eternal destiny of the unfaithful/unbelievers or can be nothing other than

If a servant or disciple of Jesus goes on acting like an unbeliever while their master is gone, they will eventually become an unbeliever and share in their same fate when the master This teaching is a sober warning to the disciples of Jesus about the possibility of becoming “an apostate” through unfaithfulness manifested in unloving, self-centered, and sinful

Now, some may wish to argue that the parable, after all, is only hypothetical—which, of course, may be argued with respect to all the parables of Jesus. But such an argument is without point. Our Lord’s parables were given, not as entertainment, but to convey solemn spiritual realities. This parable undeniably teaches that one who is a true disciple of Christ (known of Him and entrusted with solemn responsibilities), through loveless and sinful actions can depart from the path of faithfulness, become an unbeliever, and wind up in hell along with other

We can safely assume that Jesus viewed this teaching as important for His disciples to understand and heed since it appears that He delivered it to them on two separate In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus said,

Therefore keep because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, “My master is staying away a long time,” and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:42–51,

When Jesus returns, He will not be asking if you got the date right, but “What have you been doing while I have been Like in the parable of Luke 12,

Jesus is not talking about two kinds of servants in our parable—one faithful, another unfaithful. The word in the phrase wicked certifies that we are dealing with the same servant, the one who was good in the preceding verses ... and is therefore a warning: “Watch out, ‘good servant,’ for you can turn bad very quickly” (cf. Davies and Allison, 3:386). Jesus is talking about two possibilities (faithfulness or unfaithfulness) open to one servant (Jeremias, Par., 55; Schweizer, 463). He is talking about every

According to Jesus, readiness (faithfulness) and unreadiness (unfaithfulness) is reflected in the way His servant treats others while He is away. “The faithful and wise servant who devotedly feeds the household spiritual bread need not worry about the timing of the [Lord’s] parousia [i.e., But that same servant may turn out to be wicked, by acting “in an unfaithful way, violating Jesus’ love commandment by physically abusing fellow servants (cf. 22:37–41; 18:28–30) and getting drunk instead of staying alert (cf. Luke 21:34–36; 1Thess. 5:7; 1Cor. That servant will not be ready for his Master’s return and will be assigned a place with the hypocrites, “where there is ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 24:51b), a phrase in Matthew representing hell (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 25:30; cf. Luke

Jesus is warning His hand-picked disciples, and by extension all would be disciples to follow, that if they live like a hypocrite (unbeliever) while He is away, they will eventually become a hypocrite and be “condemned to hell” (Matthew 23:33; cf. 24:51, along with other hypocrites when He

Christ-followers are to “mimic the behavior of the faithful servant who works in his master’s household and is loyal to what his lord commissions him to Jesus evidently did not believe “once a Christian servant, always a Christian servant.”

IV.

In this discourse of Jesus, we shall consider the Parable of the Law of Forgiveness:

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21–35)

Jesus here teaches that the forgiveness of God, though fully and freely granted in pure mercy and grace to undeserving sinners, nevertheless remains conditional, according to the individual’s subsequent response to the gracious forgiveness he has received. This is the point of His parable. To deny this is to deny that the parable has

Some attempt to evade the issue by insisting that the teaching belongs to another Let it be observed that such objection constitutes tacit admission that the doctrine of unconditional security cannot be established in the pre-Christian era. It also constitutes a contention that saving faith in the present era differs essentially from saving faith in former eras. Furthermore, it seems strange that men should forbid Jesus the privilege of teaching, during His earthly ministry, any great principles governing a person’s relation to God—not only during the few remaining days of His brief earthly ministry, but throughout the age to follow, for which He was even then preparing His disciples. It seems even stranger that men who so easily reject much of our Lord’s later teaching as “not applicable to the present dispensation” do not hesitate to accept much of His earliest teaching (to Nicodemus, for example) as being fully applicable to the present

It is true that Jesus made reference to certain legal and ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic economy that are not applicable today. But it is also true that He enunciated cardinal principles governing a person’s spiritual relation to God that are as valid today as at the moment of utterance. One of these principles, according to His teaching in the Parable of the Law of Forgiveness, is that true repentance toward God is inseparably associated with our attitude toward our fellow men and cannot exist apart from a loving, forgiving spirit toward others.

Such true repentance, like sincere faith and the faithful retention of the saving word of the gospel, is necessary—not merely for a fleeting moment at the occasion of one’s conversion, but continually and habitually, as an essential condition of forgiveness and salvation. “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, warned Jesus, “if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35). It is possible, warned Jesus, that Peter and others who have known the forgiving grace of God might forfeit that The forgiving grace of God cannot dwell in bitter, unforgiving hearts. He who refuses to forgive his brother has no real sense of need for the forgiveness of God and no just claim on His gracious forgiveness. “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

gives the parable in Luke 8:4–8, and ends with “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (v. 8b). After the interpretation of the parable (vv. 11–15), He says, “Take care then how you hear” (v. 18). Thus, “The parable is a description of various responses to hearing God’s word and surely depicts the responses Jesus encountered in his own ministry.... We should not forget that the Hebrew verb for hearing is often translated in English as ‘obey’” (Snodgrass 2008: 170).

described this seed as falling “on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture” (Luke 8:6). “The seed does sprout and grow, but it does not survive because it lacks roots in the soil and does not receive proper moisture because the ground is shallow” (Oropeza 2011: 126).

NKJV has “temptation”; others have “testing”

511. BDAG 817: “to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence, believe w[ith] implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted.”

notes: “Luke’s use of the words ‘believe’ (πιστεύω) Acts 2:44; 4:4; 8:12, 37–38; 13:12, 48; 16:30–31] and ‘receive’ (δέχομαι) Acts 8:14; 11:1; 17:11f. cf. Luke 9:48; 18:17] suggest a typical response hearers make to apostolic preaching that leads them to salvation. In fact, belief is directly associated with salvation in the parable (cf. 8:12)” (2011: 127, and fn. 129).

2011: 127. The word for “testing” or “temptation” could refer to being enticed to sin, or to lapse from faith and holiness through the allurement of worldly riches and pleasures Luke 4:2, 13; 8:14; 17:22–30; 22:40, 46; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Timothy 6:9). It could refer to undergoing times of adversity and persecution that test one’s faith and character Luke 22:28; Acts 20:19; cf. Luke 21:5–27; Acts 14:22; James 1:2–4; 1Peter 1:6). So Oropeza 2011: 127–130; Thayer 498.

1103; Abbott-Smith 71; Robinson 113.

84; Gingrich 34; Turner 1982: 21. Cremer 308: “to denote religious apostasy, in contrast to πιστεύειν [believe/trust], Luke 8:13.... Thus = to dissolve the union formed with God by faith and Oropeza (2011: 127) notes: “In other ancient Jewish and Christian traditions the word is used frequently for apostasy (e.g., Deut 13:10, 13; Josh 22:18; Jer 3:14; Dan 9:9; 1 Tim 4:1; Heb 3:12; Herm. Vis. 2.3.2; Herm. Sim. 8.9.1).”

(2010: 260) translates aphistēmi as “apostatize.” The parallel passages (Matthew 13:21; Mark 4:17) use which means to away, give up believing (Matthew 13:21)” (F&M 349); “fall away from faith” (Abbott-Smith 101; Giesen, EDNT 3:248; cf. Renn 364). The cause for this falling away in Luke is due to temptations/trials in Matthew/Mark, they are tribulations and persecutions

1982: 132. Renn 364: “‘fall away’ from the faith in a time of temptation.” “Lk. 8:13 probably refers to apostasy as a result of eschatological temptation. Here are people who have come to believe, who have received the gospel ‘with joy.’ But under the pressure of persecution and tribulation arising because of the faith, they break off the relationship with God into which they have entered” (Bauder, NIDNTT 1:607–608).

understand that the term apostasy is defined differently by Calvinists and Arminians. Based on this passage, and many others we will examine in the following chapters, we agree with Scot McKnight in seeing apostasy as “a theological category describing those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in the God of the covenant, who manifests himself most completely in Jesus Christ” 58). In short, apostasy refers to a believer who stops trusting in God and His Son and becomes an Thus, “Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion” (Barnett, DLNTD 73).

13 refers to] departure from initial belief—an apostasy occasioned by trails that test their faith and find it wanting (compare 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:12)” (Gundry 2010: 260; So Bovon 2002: 309; Plummer 1922: 221). Nolland (1989: 388) writes:

The seed is the word of God, and the first place it has fallen is along the path. The initial group hear but get no real hold on the word of God. The Devil has no difficulty in extricating it from their hearts. In their case, no response of faith has bound the message to their hearts ... which could have brought them salvation (cf. Acts 15:11; 16:31). The second group have a different problem. The real potential of these newly germinated plants will only come to light when the pressures come on in some kind of trial. Just as the true deep loyalties of Jesus were put on trial in Luke 4:1–13, so will those of every respondent to the Christian gospel also be. If the rootedness is not there, the new life will wither away. Apostasy is the outcome.

Based on the teaching of this parable, “Jesus was not an advocate of ‘once saved, always saved’ soteriology” (Levine & Witherington 2018: 235).

1039: “The capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness,

340: hold fast, keep secure, keep firm possession

1925: 147.

644.

Marshall 1995: 265.

the NT this is what the virtue [perseverance] is called by which the human being, unbroken by calamities, tortures, temptations, endures with courage in faith and piety” (Bovon 2012: 113, fn. 63), quoting Francisco Zorrell’s definition Testamenti Lexicon Graecum [Paris: Lethielleux, 1911]).

your souls = “eternal life,” Thayer, 363; or “life destined to enjoy the Messianic salvation,” Thayer, 677. Sand, EDNT 3:502, psuchē refers to “the idea of future (eternal) life.”

2011: 129. “By faithfully enduring (cf. Luke 8:15) in time of persecution, the believer gains for himself or herself eternal life (cf. 9:24).... As in the parable of the soils (8:15), so here the need to persevere is stressed. In the parable such perseverance results in being “saved” (8:12). Here this same result is described somewhat differently as “gaining your life (21:19, RSV)” (Stein 1993: 518).

believed that we are indeed saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone. This faith is accompanied by action (Jas 2:17), expresses itself through love (cf. Gal 5:6), and puts God’s word into practice (Luke 8:21)” (Stein 1993: 251–252). Jesus said in Matthew 7:20: “Not everyone saying to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of My Father in the heavens” emphasis added).

expected his readers “to follow their salvation in Christ with obedience to God’s word (11:28)” (Stein 1993: 334).

WP 5:156. So BDAG 443; Abbott-Smith 202. “Never ‘seeing’ death is, of course, idiomatic for never experiencing it” (Keener 2003: 1:765).

Greek “hold fast” is a present indicative referring to “continuing action” (Picirilli 1987: 214). Thus, “holding fast” or “holding-on” would be more accurate.

Corinthians are being saved by means of the gospel and can confidently expect final salvation if in fact ... they go on holding fast to such good news as Paul announced to them” (Picirilli 1987: 214).

“implanted word” refers to “God’s word, or the gospel, as implanted by God in one’s heart at conversion (Deut. 30:1; Matthew 13:4–15, 18–23; 1Cor. 3:6; 1Thess. 1:6; 2:13).... As in the parable of the sower, the word may be planted, but unless obeyed it is soon choked, with fatal results” (Davids 1989: 54).

people have received the ‘word’ of the gospel, for they are members of the Christian community. But the word already planted in their hearts must be acted upon ... if it is to save them” (Davids 1989: 40).

translation reads: “You, what you heard from the beginning—let it continue to remain in you! If there remains in you what from the beginning you heard, you, too, in the Son and in the Father will continue to remain” (1966: 438–439).

(1966: 439, 441) rightly states that the “teaching heard by the readers are the divine means for uniting them with the Father and the Son, and the continuance of this union depends on the fact that what they have heard ever continues to remain in them.... The apostles were (and still are) Christ’s intermediaries for conveying his promise.”

EDNT 3:248.

three places signifies the apostasy of Christians resulting from tribulation] (Mk 4:17; Mt 13:21; 24:9–19; cf. Dn 11:41 LXX)” (S. Brown 1969: 30).

84; Gingrich 34.

= “fall away from faith” (Abbott-Smith 101; and Giesen, EDNT 3:248, with cited examples Mark 4:17 par. Matt 13:21; Matt 24:10; and John 16:1); “in an absolute sense fall away, give up believing (Matthew 13:21)” (F&M 349; cf. LN 31.77). S. Brown says, “the apostasy of the Christian is represented by skandalizō as the loss of his faith in Mark 4:17; cf. Mt 13:21” (1969: 31, fn. 114). “he immediately falls from faith.”

the nature of the case [in v. 10 here] these Many are followers of Jesus, and it may be necessary to make this fact explicit [in translation]: ‘Many of my followers,’ ‘Many who believe in me’” (Bratcher 1981: 301). The “many” who fall away refer to “the Christian who has turned apostate” (Meyer 1879: 2:132).

“Many will give up their faith at that time.” “‘At that time’ (‘then’ the time of the ‘tribulation’ of v. 9) there will be a great ‘falling away’ or apostasy from the faith” (Osborne 2010: 875). This is a “ruinous apostasy in consequence of persecution from without” (Meyer 1879: 2:132).

is quite evident that Matt 24:10a is not describing a group of apostates independent of other groups that are not considered apostates in 24:10b–12. Betrayals, hatreds, deception, and failed love all characterize the ways believers will fall away from their faith” (Oropeza 2011: 81). Beare (1982: 465–466) writes: “VERSES 10–12 introduce a note of extreme gloom over the effects of persecution, as Matthew has observed them in his own experience. He is far from sharing the romantic notion that persecution is good for the church, and that it issues in a refinement of spiritual life. It must be expected that some will apostatize—this is already noted in the ‘interpretation’ of the parable of the Sower (13:21). Betrayal, hatred of one’s former comrades in the faith of Christ—this too came about, out of a hope of saving one’s own skin by denouncing one’s Christian associates.”

436 has sōzō in Matthew 24:13 referring to “future” salvation. BDAG 982: “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, save/preserve from eternal death from judgment, and from all that might lead to such death, e.g., sin, also in a positive sense bring Messianic salvation, bring to Thayer 610). Cremer 534: “to be saved from perdition, condemnation, judgment.” Strong’s 2161: “Specifically of salvation from eternal death, sin, and the punishment and misery consequent to sin. To save, and (by implication), to give eternal life” Robinson 706; cf. Bloomfield 429).

644.

& Allison 2004: 422. France (2007a: 906) says skandalizō here means “a fall which is not just a temporary setback but involves the abandonment of God’s way and the loss of salvation (as in 5:29–30; 13:21; 18:6–9).”

Christian exhortation regularly portrayed perseverance and apostasy as the alternatives in times of serious testing” (Keener 1997: 570).

1997: 571. “[Perseverance] is a decisive precondition if the individual is to attain personally to the final salvation of God” (Hauck, TDNT 4:585). “Will be saved here is definitely used in the full Christian sense of one’s final salvation” (Newman & Stine 1988: 738; So Geddert, DJG 24). Bruner (2004: 2:489–490) writes:

the person who sticks to the very end is the one who will be Remarkable here is the sudden reduction to the “the to a single, solitary “the Every address of Jesus to this point in his sermon has been in But now two straight singulars paint a picture of a solitary Christian hanging in there to the very end. Matthew’s Jesus intends these singulars—as though there will be only a few individuals at the end—in order to move every listening disciple to a fresh pledge of allegiance.... This “sticking” is simply faith under pressure. It is this faith that proves itself by becoming a love that does not freeze to death inside a lawless-loveless world (v. 12) and that moves out into that world instead in ardent, loving mission (v. 14).

2011: 81–82. “[Endurance/perseverance] is the antithesis to apostasy from the faith ... and from love.” (Lange 1865: 424; cf. Meyer 1879: 2:133).

(1993: 50–51) rightly notes how the Sermon on the Mount is directed to Christ-followers: “When one responds to Jesus’ call to follow him, what then? The Sermon on the Mount provides the answer.... Various interpretations of the sermon have been proposed through the years that tailor loopholes for the reader to escape its awesome demands. But Matthew understands it to be the unconditioned expression of God’s will and the charter of conduct for disciples.” If a disciple wishes to enter the kingdom of heaven (5:20), then obedience to Jesus’s teaching is necessary. However, even this “obedience is a response to the gracious activity of God that has already been experienced (4:23–25)” by a follower of Jesus. “With the offer of grace comes a demand. After the beatitudes that pronounce God’s blessing, the emphasis falls on hearing and doing (5:19; 7:24–27), on works (5:16), on righteousness (5:20; 6:1, 33), and on bearing fruit (7:15–23).” Matthew assumes “that these commands not only can be done, they must be done. The disciples’ ultimate destinies depend not only on their relationship to Jesus (7:21–23) but also on their obedience to his words (7:24–27).” The disciple who obeys Jesus will enter the Kingdom of heaven (5:20), while the disobedient “will meet with final punishment (5:22, 25–26, 29–30; 7:13, 19, 23, 27).”

by Grant Osborne 2010: 195, emphasis added. This passage is similar to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:8–9, which we will examine in a later chapter.

2010: 196.

word which is translated by the RSV as ‘cause to sin,’ has a more precise and narrower meaning for the evangelist than just general sin. It means to fall away or to cause to fall away, in this case, from the faith” (Scaer 2000: 115). France says:

To “cause to stumble” is a recurrent metaphor in Matthew.... In some of these cases the passive denotes “being offended” by a person’s behavior or teaching (11:6; 13:57; 15:12; 17:27), a relatively mild sense of the verb. But often it denotes something more catastrophic, a stumbling which deflects a person from the path of God’s will and salvation (13:21; 18:6; 24:10; 26:31–33), and a “stumbling block” is a person or thing which gets in the way of God’s saving purpose (13:41; 16:23; 18:7). In the case of the disciples’ stumbling in Gethsemane (26:31–33) the effect was not terminal, but here and in 18:8–9 (and by implication in 13:21) the stumbling involves the final loss of salvation [Gehenna, or “hell” etc.].... The theme is impediments to ultimate salvation, and the importance of eliminating them at all costs, a theme which could have many different applications to relationships, activities, mental attitudes, and the like, certainly not only to sexual temptation. (2007: 205–206)

2010: 196, 197. Scaer (2000: 114) says, “drastic steps should be taken to avoid eternal condemnation.”

2010: 197.

2000: 161.

this context, the contrast between a Christian servant acting in a faithful or unfaithful manner would most likely lean toward the translation “unfaithful.” Hultgren (2000: 167) says Luke’s use of unfaithful “serves to make a contrast and an inclusio: the slave [or servant] can be ‘faithful’ and wise (12:42), or he can be judged and placed within the company of the ‘unfaithful’ (12:46).”

the food provided is to be understood metaphorically to refer to that which is needed for existence as believers, that is, proclamation and teaching. That is to be supplied in an orderly and timely fashion” (Hultgren 2000: 161; cf. Franzmann 1989: 427).

hold that the Scriptures everywhere affirm that faithfulness in service to the Lord is the fruit of which true faith is the

497 has meros “referring to eternal destiny” in Matthew 24:51 and Revelation 21:8. Thayer (400) has a assigned to one, Rev. 21:8; ... to appoint one his lot with certain persons, Matthew 24:51; Luke 12:46.”

34.

Phillips, BTDB 339; Michl, EBT 370; Claybrook 2003: 265; Franzmann 1989: 428; Lenski 1946: 710; Meyer 1893: 421 “the punishment of Gehenna.” Kretzmann 1921: 337 “eternal damnation” (cf. Levine & Witherington 2018: 355 “damnation”). Lunde 311) rightly understands that Jesus intended “hell” here for “unfaithfulness” and in Matthew 24:51. That the fate described in Luke 12:46 refers to going to hell is confirmed by the words: “assign him a place with the unfaithful also found in Revelation 21:8, “But as for the cowards, unbelievers “unfaithful,” detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death”

Marshall 1969: 76; Oropeza 2011: 138. Perrin (2022: 259) writes: “Here is a sobering thought: those who neglect or otherwise abuse those under their charge will—not withstanding their reputation or office—be assigned the same fate as unbelievers.” Perrin rightly notes that this teaching is directed to “church leaders” and these “Christian leaders ... stand in danger of eternal judgment on account of their malfeasance” (2022: 258).

Oropeza 2011: 138. The unfaithful servant “has apostatized into a wicked character” (Summers 1872: 212). “This passage, therefore, declares the consequences of total and final apostasy” (Nash 1871: 328).

Peterson’s paraphrase “the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes” (Luke 12:46, The falls woefully short of staying true to Christ’s intended meaning.

Daniel (1996: 113, 125) has Luke 12:42–46 being taught sometime during Christ’s later Judean Ministry (Oct. to Dec., A.D. 29). Matthew 24 was spoken to his disciples on Wednesday afternoon, April 5, on the Mount of Olives (A.D. 30) (Daniel 1996: 167–172).

command to “‘watch’/‘beware’ often conveys a warning that, if not followed, results in the possibility of Christians being led astray or falling away into eschatological [i.e., future and final] ruin.... Mark 8:15; 12:38; Luke 8:18; Acts 13:40–41; Gal 5:15; 1 Cor 10:12, 18; Phil 3:2; Heb 3:12; 12:25; 2 John 8; 1 Pet 4:7; ... Ign. 10; Irenaeus, 36.3” (Oropeza 2011: 88, and fn. 171).

1993: 241.

2004: 2:539. So Oropeza 2011: 88, fn. 175. Remarkably, Blomberg views the servant of the Lord in this parable as having always been an He rightly says the parable involves one servant and not two; that Christians should be about the Lord’s work; and that Christ’s return will catch all unbelievers by surprise and result in eternal damnation for them (1992: 368–369). However, when Blomberg gets to explaining vv. 48 ff., he writes:

The picture of the slave caught beating his fellow servants does not portray Christians caught in sin and suddenly damned. Instead, it pictures people [i.e., who delay coming to terms with God in Christ for too long, so that they suddenly find, whether due to his return or due to their own deaths, that it is too late to repent. God has commanded all individuals to be good stewards of his creation (Gen 1:26–28) and therefore holds everyone accountable. Those who prove unfaithful stewards can anticipate eternal damnation (1992: 368–369).

Blomberg has misrepresented Jesus’ intended meaning here. Jesus has been addressing His believing disciples since Matthew 24:1ff., where He warns them (“be watching,” v. 4) about the need to be prepared to withstand the future deception and persecution that will occur prior to His return. He emphasizes that no one knows the day of His return except the Father and that day will come unexpectedly on people, like the Flood in Noah’s day. “Therefore keep-watching, because you do not know on which day your Lord is coming.... be prepared ones—because the Son of Man is coming at an hour which you do not expect” (v. 42, 44, emphasis added). Then Jesus launches into parables that illustrate what being prepared for His return looks like for His followers. Jesus does not put unbelievers “in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time” (v. 45). This parable has nothing to do with unbelievers being “unfaithful stewards” of God’s creation. The believer doing his Master’s will is wise and faithful and ready for his Master’s return. That same believer can tell himself, “My master is staying away a long time,” and begin living like an unbeliever. He is foolish and unfaithful and not ready for his Master’s return. He is not ready precisely because he has gone from being a believer to an unbeliever. The picture is thus about a believer who becomes an unbeliever (apostatizes) and winds up being sent to the same place as other unbelievers (hell) when Christ returns unexpectedly.

1993: 241.

2011: 88.

2011: 89. So Phillips, BTDB 339; Michl, EBT 1:370; Claybrook 2003: 265; Witherington 2006: 457; Meyer 1884: 430. “The ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ shows that Matthew is thinking of final exclusion from the Kingdom, indeed of sentencing to hell” (Beare 1982: 479). Jeremias (1972: 105) says the phrase weeping and gnashing of teeth “is a symbol of despair, a despair caused by salvation forfeited by one’s own fault.”

called religious hypocrites a child of hell: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:15,

Those reading/listening to Matthew’s gospel would have made connections to “hypocrites” and their eternal destiny from the preceding discourse. In Matthew 22, the Pharisees ask Jesus which is the greatest commandment in the Law, and Jesus replies, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37–40, Shortly after this, Jesus goes on to give a scathing rebuke of Israel’s religious leaders in chapter 23. They have been abusing their positions of authority in not following the love commandments and are justly called “hypocrites” (e.g., Matthew 23:13–15, 23, 25, 27–29), having “neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” and are “full of greed and self-indulgence” (23:23b, 25,

The Christian servant in Jesus’ parable who acts unfaithful in beating his fellow servants and engaging in self-indulgent partying is abusing their position of authority and neglecting the love commandments. That Christian servant who goes on acting like a hypocrite (unbeliever) while his Master is gone will eventually become one of them. When his Master returns, the Master will reckon him a hypocrite (unbeliever) and deserving of a hypocrite’s destiny—hell (Matthew 23:15, 33; 24:51).

2011: 89.

what is the undeniable inference [of this parable]? Why, that every one who is really forgiven, if he does not exercise the spirit of forgiveness toward his fellows, shall have the whole original claim reëxacted, and be cast into the prison of hell. Nothing can more clearly represent the final loss of an apostate soul, and the fearful danger of sharing that fate by falling into an unforgiving spirit” (J. Wallace 1855: 77–78).

Chafer 1947: 3:292.

friend, in conversation with the author, even denied that our Lord’s words in John 15 have any bearing on the question of our relation to Christ today, since they were spoken “before Calvary”—a few hours! What delicate, fragile hairs skilled “rightly dividers” can sometimes neatly split with one swift, sure stroke of their hermeneutical broadaxe!

failure to forgive others may result in the forfeiture and loss of the Father’s forgiveness and our salvation” (Shoemaker 2011: 253). Interestingly, Dale Bruner (2004: 2:245) says: “Calvinists have problems with this parable because it teaches that a once-forgiven person can fall away and lose forgiveness. What then becomes, they rightly ask, of the perseverance of the saints and of the eternal security of believers?” Bruner’s solution is that “every perseverance and security text of Scripture should be taught with vigor and fidelity, but never without teaching the warning texts of Scripture just as faithfully” (2004: 2:245). Bruner’s solution is sound, but we fail to see how it can be carried out by Calvinists with any integrity. Once a Calvinist teacher explains that some Christians (i.e., the elect) are unconditionally and eternally secure (via unconditional election and irresistible grace), then there are no warning texts regarding falling away (apostasy) that are applicable to such Christians.

EIGHT

Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 2)

This last discourse contains some of the most solemn and intimate words ever uttered by our Savior concerning the nature of the relation between Himself and all who would be in a saving relationship with Him. The words were spoken on the eve of His betrayal, shortly after He had instituted the simple supper that was to serve as a memorial of His death until He comes again, and that is the symbol of our partaking, by faith, of the body and blood of Him who is our life:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser [“gardener,” Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away [“removes,” “cuts off,” and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up [“withers” and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:1–8,

These words of our Lord contain a cardinal axiom of the Christian life—indeed, the foundation principle governing the relation of Christ and the individual throughout his earthly sojourn in a moral and spiritual universe. Every pertinent Bible passage and every consideration of the question of the individual’s relation to the Savior must be equated and evaluated in the light of this foundation principle enunciated by our Lord.

Before examining the principle in its setting in our passage, let us consider verses from Jesus’ discourse in John 6 in which the principle is vividly portrayed:

“I am the living bread which is coming down from heaven; if anyone eats from this bread they will live forever, and the bread which I will now give is My flesh for the life of the world... . The one who is eating My flesh and drinking My blood is having eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. The one who is eating My flesh and drinking My blood is remaining [or “continually abiding,” Wuest] in Me and I in them. Just as the Living Father sent Me and I am living because of the Father, so also the one who is eating of Me, that one will have life [or “live,” because of Me.” (John 6:51, 54–57, Thornhill)

The living Father has sent Jesus, the living Bread, so that people could have life or live through Him. But a person is not having life unless they are partaking of this life-giving Bread by faith. The necessary ongoing spiritual consumption of this Bread allows a person to continually abide, or dwell, in Jesus, and He in them.

Lenski explains that the present-tense verbs for eating and drinking convey “continuous action.” “If the point of comparison is asked for, it is simply that eating and drinking, like believing, is a receiving of the most ... vital kind. As eating and drinking receive food to be assimilated in the body, so believing receives Christ with the atonement made through his sacrificial flesh and blood. But the figure is less than the reality, for bodily eating only sustains life already present while spiritual eating or believing” leads to the “mystical union of the believer with Christ” where we are possessing eternal life from dwelling in Him who is the Source of eternal

This “mystical union of the believer with Christ” Lenski speaks of is conditional upon an ongoing “eating and drinking Ridderbos rightly notes: “this ‘eating’ and ‘drinking’ [in v.56] are not a onetime event but a repeated activity of Not only is this eating and drinking not a onetime event, but neither is this indwelling union with Christ. Laney writes: “The present tense of ‘remains’ suggests a continuous relationship.... The focus of this term is on the union of the believer with Christ. The relationship between Christ and the believer is depicted as a spiritual union involving a continuous, mutual

Some advocates of unconditional security disagree with the majority of scholars who see “remaining” or “abiding” in Jesus referring to living in union with Him. They assert that “abiding” simply refers to remaining in or with Jesus. We do not doubt these realities are a part of “abiding” in Jesus, but they do not say Jesus defines “abiding” for us in John 6, and its meaning becomes unmistakable when you compare what He says in verse 56 with verse 54:

Verse	action	object	promises
54	eating and drinking	Living Bread	is having eternal life, will raise them up on the last day
56	eating and drinking	Living Bread	is abiding in Me, and I in him

Eating and drinking are metaphors for believing or trusting in Jesus Therefore, since abiding in Christ is parallel with having eternal life, and since the condition (eating and drinking—believing) for each is identical, then abiding in Christ can mean nothing less than remaining in a life-giving union with Him who is the Bread of Life, and having the assurance of being resurrected by Jesus on the last day—the day of His Contrary to the opinions of some, abiding/remaining in Jesus is not optional if one desires to stay in a saving relationship with

Since there is an obvious connection between John 6:56 and John let us now state the foundation principle governing the relation of Christ and the individual, as implied in the words of Jesus in John 15:

Throughout his earthly sojourn, the relation of the individual to Christ is never a static relationship existing as the irrevocable consequence of a past decision, act, or experience. Rather, it is a present mutual indwelling of the believer and the Savior, the sharing of a common life which emanates from Him “who is our life” (Col. 3:4). For the believer, it is a living union proceeding upon a living faith in a living Savior. The principle is reduced to its simplest statement in the words of Jesus, “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4).

There is much in John 15 to interpret, but we begin by following Mickelsen’s four principles for interpreting allegories (or extended

1.Be able to state explicitly who were the original hearers or readers. This will enable you to see the allegory as a living vehicle of teaching rather than la literary form in an ancient narrative.

2.If possible, note why the allegory was told in the first place.

3.Search out the basic points of comparison stressed by the original speaker or writer. The allegory itself usually makes these clear by the emphasis put upon particular elements in the story. To find out what these stand for, look for explicit identification (“I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser” John 15:1).

4.After listing the basic points of comparison and the things for which they stand, state in as simple a manner as possible why these truths were essential for the original hearers or readers and why they are essential for us

First, Jesus was originally talking to His eleven saved disciples minus Judas Iscariot, who left during the Last Supper to betray Jesus (John 13:21–30). We know they were in a saving relationship with Jesus because He says, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you” (v.3, Clean suggests having been “cleansed by the forgiveness of This cleansing was made possible because the disciples had accepted the “word,” or teaching, Jesus had spoken to them. The “word” refers to “his entire message (14:23–24), which in the context of the Gospel as a whole communicated Christ’s very person (16:8–15; cf.

Witherington provides the “why” of the allegory:

First, the issue being addressed in the farewell discourses [chapters 13–17] as a whole is the preparation of the disciples for Jesus’ and the promise that Jesus will equip them with the Advocate not only to remain faithful but to continue to carry out the evangelistic tasks to which God has called them, bearing much fruit, despite resistance and rejection. In other words, the primary issue here is ... how can the true people of God remain faithful and continue to function properly despite a hostile

This “hostile environment” is explained by Jesus later in chapter 15:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.... Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.... But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” (John 15:18, 20–21, 26–16:4a)

“In the Johannine farewell address (John 16:1) ... does not only imply an ‘endangering of faith’ ... but rather ‘falling away from faith’ Jesus was concerned that the world’s hostility toward His disciples could “cause them to stumble and fall away from their faith in him” if they were not warned about it in “To be forewarned is to be Carson (1991: 530) says, “The greatest danger the disciples will confront from the opposition of the world is not death but

Such apostasy can be avoided if the disciples remember this warning and remain connected to Jesus, like a branch to a tree or vine (John 15:4–5). As long as the disciples are remaining in Jesus, they can be assured that when they do “go” and bear witness about Him in a hostile world, they will “bear fruit, fruit that remains (15:16,

There are three basic points of comparison in this allegory:

1.the true vine = Christ (15:1, 5)

2.the vinedresser = the Father (15:1)

3.the branches = the disciples (15:2,

Mickelsen helpfully explains why they these points of comparison were essential to the original readers/listeners and how they are essential for us

First, Christ (the Vine) is central to the entire teaching here with the repeated pronouns “I,” “my,” “me,” “in me” used throughout, and evidenced in what He states in verse 5: “for apart from Me you can do nothing.” The disciples must remain connected to Christ if they are to accomplish any fruit-brearing that will glorify the

In the second point of comparison, the Father (the vinedresser) takes an active role with disciples (branches) who are attached to Christ (the vine).

A branch that does not bear fruit, although it is in vital union with the vine (“in me”), the vinedresser cuts off The branches bearing fruit are pruned for the purpose that they may bear more fruit (15:2b). Here the Father is pictured as being concerned with fruit-bearing. He takes decisive action to eliminate fruitless branches and to bring to maximum production the branches that are attached to the

Lastly, we need to consider the actions of the disciples (branches) themselves. Here we find

that allegory combines factual experience with elements that do not occur in the earthly reality that is being used for metaphorical purposes. In nature branches do not “act” at all. They may wave in the breeze. They may dry up and wither. But the branches never act on their own—they are simply a part of a tree or vine. In this allegory, however, they “act” volitionally. The disciples are told “abide [totality of action] in me” (15:4a). Action is also made clear by direct comparison: “As the branch is not able to bear fruit by itself except it constantly abide [pres. tense] in the vine, so neither you [plural] except you [plural] constantly abide [pres. tense] in me” (15:4b). The literal branch abides by being there “positionally.” The disciples abide by being there “relationally.” In the allegory Jesus warns of the out-come if the disciple does not actively respond: “If anyone does not abide [pres. tense, linear action] in me, he is thrown away [gnomic aorist] as the branch, and it withers and they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are being burned” (John 15:6). Obviously Jesus was not thinking of a mechanical connection. A vital relationship demands a constant activity. Answers to prayer depend on this vital, active relationship (15:7). Fruit-bearing, as a sign of this vital relationship, brings glory to God and shows that the one so producing will be Christ’s disciple in the future as well as the present (15:8). In conclusion, obeying Christ’s commandments is pictured as evidence that the disciple is abiding in Christ’s love (15:9–10). This allegory dynamically portrays to the reader why he must maintain a fresh, living relationship to Jesus Christ and his Father. This is what discipleship

Mickelsen provides a number of excellent insights for the reader, not least the kind of action represented by the verb abide “remain, The verb occurs four times in the present once as a present active participle (literally, “the [one] abiding in Me,” v.5); and three times as a present active subjunctive (v.4 [twice], v.6)—which Mickelsen translates as “constantly Lenski says the present tenses indicate “continuous Thus, remaining or abiding in Jesus must be viewed as “an ongoing, not already completed, [relational]

In verse 4, Jesus commands His disciples: “Remain in The preposition “in” in verse 4ff. refers “especially of the union by faith of Christians with Christ, who are then in Christ, as a branch in or on a Furthermore, when remain/abide “is used with the preposition ‘in’ and a personal object, it points to the relationship of mutual indwelling of the Father, the Son and the believer.... ‘Abiding in Christ’ assumes the most intimate union This means that Jesus believed the disciples were already in a life-giving union with Him, and now must remain in this union if they want to be bearing fruit to the glory of the Father in the midst of a hostile Jesus goes on to say,

Just as the branch is not able to produce fruit by itself unless it is remaining in the vine, so neither are you unless you are remaining in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who is remaining in Me and I in them—this one is bearing much fruit, because apart from Me you are able to do nothing. (John 15:4b–5, Thornhill)

F.F. Bruce 1983: 309 explains,

A vine-branch is lifeless and useless unless it remains attached to the vine. The living sap from the stock flowing into it enables it to produce grapes; otherwise it is fruitless. So with Jesus’ disciples: only as they remain in union with him and derive their life from him can they produce the fruit of the

In nature, branches must remain connected to the tree or vine in order to remain physically alive and fruitful. Likewise, the disciples (branches) must be remaining in a life-giving connection with Christ (the Vine) in order to remain spiritually alive and fruitful. Of course, this is where the natural order and the spiritual order differ. “The natural branch does not exercise its own will to choose whether or not to abide in the vine. It either remains in the vine or dies. But in the spiritual sense there is a definite act of the will on the disciple’s Disciples remain in union with Jesus by continuing to trust in Him (John Indeed, this remaining in Jesus “is not maintained without the constant and conscious endeavor of the disciple’s own We would emphasize that it is always God’s grace that precedes and enables the human will to respond in trust to Jesus from the first moment till the end of Nevertheless, we do not find Scripture teaching that God’s grace works irresistibly to ensure that a disciple will always choose to keep on trusting in Jesus and thus, continue to remain in union with This appears self-evident from Christ’s command, “You must remain in union with me” (15:4, Williams), which affirms human and implies that this union “can be Lincoln says:

The exhortation [in v.4] can be taken in a number of ways—an exhortation for both parties to remain in relationship ... or a conditional statement with the force of ‘Remain in me, and I will remain in you.’ The warning in the surrounding verses about not remaining make the last option the most

The warning is found in verses 2 and

Every branch in Me not bearing fruit—He takes it away. (15:2,

If anyone does not keep on abiding/remaining in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

The Father “takes away,” or better, “cuts off” branches in Him because they are not bearing fruit, which contextually is a result of having failed to be “abiding/remaining” in Jesus (15:4ff.), “a condition that 15:6 explicitly claims results in being cast away and eventually Therefore, verse 6 is the extended commentary on verse with both images describing “apostate branches who have failed to persevere [in In verses 2 and 6, Jesus is referring to “disciples whose hearts have lost the faith and the love that once dwelt in them and joined them to If disciples of Jesus do not keep on remaining in union with Him through a persevering faith (evidenced in the bearing of fruit), then the consequences would be catastrophic—they will become unbelievers and be “cast into the fire (15:6)—a picture consistent with other portrayals of the final destiny of

Bruce Wilkerson, in his book Secrets of the says, “These words [‘cast into the fire’] sound catastrophic, but Jesus isn’t threatening a barren branch with hell.... Jesus is making a dramatic point. If we are not abiding, we wither and die and become of no spiritual But Wilkerson is assuming that abiding in Christ is optional for a believer to remain savingly connected to Christ, the life-giving Vine. However, we have already established that abiding in Christ refers to remaining in a life-giving and saving union with Him (John 6:51–58). Therefore, the failure to remain in a saving faith-union with Christ necessarily results in a believer committing apostasy; becoming relationally severed from Christ; and ultimately sharing in the unbeliever’s eternal This conclusion from John 15:6 is further confirmed by looking at the teachings of

In the Gospels, Jesus consistently employed the word “cast/throw” and it related words ekballō and in conjunction with the metaphor “fire” or “hell” to portray the final judgment of hell for Compare the language of John 15:6 with that used by Jesus elsewhere in His

“If anyone does not keep on abiding/remaining in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned (John

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.... Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire So then, you will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15–16, 19–20,

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:24–30,

And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:37–43,

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:47–50,

The words sunagō and sullegō that Jesus used for the “gathering up” process at the end of the age are synonyms in Matthew 13. Therefore, we find additional evidence from the teachings of Jesus to understand the words “they gather them” in John 15:6, combined with the words “throw/cast into the fire,” as a reference to Christ’s who are given the authority to execute Christ’s final judgment upon former believers/disciples who failed to stay relationally connected to

The disciples are being vividly warned that it is possible for them to become relationally severed from Christ if they fail to remain in a life-giving union with Him through a persevering faith. Disciples (believers) who commit apostasy (i.e., become will be thrown into hell by God’s angels at the end of the age along with other The allegory of the vine and the branches “makes it unmistakably clear that Christ did not believe ‘once in the vine, always in the

Advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security invariably have found themselves hard-pressed to interpret John 15:1–6. Often you find them reading ideas into the text that Jesus never intended. For example, Bishop Ryle declares of all who are cast forth from the Vine, “Doubtless there are those who seem to depart from grace, and to go back from union with Christ; but we need not doubt in such cases that the grace was not real, but and the union was not true, but

Methodist scholar Adam Clarke insightfully responded to this “fictitious” or “seeming” union argument:

Our Lord in the plainest manner intimates that a person may as truly be united to him as the branch is to the tree that produces it, and yet be afterwards cut off and cast into the fire; because he has not brought forth fruit to the glory of his No man can cut off a branch from a tree to which that branch was never it is absurd, and contrary to the letter and spirit of the metaphor, to talk of being seemingly in Christ—because this means nothing. If there was only a seeming union, there could be only a seeming so the matter is just where it began; nothing is done on either side, and nothing said to any

This seeming union is a necessary assumption for the advocates of unconditional security. Its necessary corollary is the contention that the “branches in Me” of which Jesus spoke are not believers, but unbelievers who profess to be Christ-followers. Unable to deny that “branches” defect and are cast out, the proponents of unconditional security find themselves under the necessity of “defining” the branches. Bishop Ryle therefore contends that “it cannot be shown that a ‘branch in Me’ must mean a believer in Me. It means nothing more than ‘a professing member of my Church, a man joined to the company of my people, but not joined to Such a contention is necessary, of course, if one is to defend the doctrine of unconditional security. But some of us find it difficult to conceive of Jesus as saying to His apostles, “I am the vine, and all who are professing members of my Church and joined to the company of My people, though not necessarily joined to Me, are the branches in Me.”

Similarly, in an attempt to reconcile the passage with his theology, Calvin declares that “many are supposed to be in the according to the opinion of men, who actually have no root in the True; but irrelevant. For Jesus was not speaking about the opinions of men, but about solemn realities—about things as they are, not as men may imagine them to be. We must protest that any definition of the branches that cannot easily be inserted into our Savior’s discourse without a sense of glaring incongruity is obviously inadmissible.

And again, it is unthinkable that Christ should say, “I am the vine, and all who are supposed to be in the vine according to the opinion of men, some of whom do not actually have real root in the vine, are the branches.” Such arbitrary definitions of the branches are nevertheless unavoidable for all who deny that Jesus taught that men who are true believers can ultimately abandon faith and become unbelievers, severing their union with Christ, and find themselves thrown out, withered, and gathered up to be cast into Let it be noted that only what has first been alive can become withered. Ben Witherington correctly observes:

Apostate or unfruitful [former] believers are envisioned who are cut off the tree because they do not bear fruit [v.2]. Nothing is said here to suggest that these branches were not truly part of the vine originally or that they were not a growth from the authentic vine. Rather, the point is they did not do what branches were expected to do—bear fruit. Verse 6 is quite clear. This being cut off is not seen as happening to those who have never been a part of the authentic vine but to those who “do not remain in me.” This of course presupposes that at one point they were authentically joined to Jesus but did not stay the course because of pressures and problems created by a hostile

Let us be careful not to read ideas into John 15:1–6 that Jesus never intended to His original audience. Let us recognize the teaching of the Vine and branches to be what it is—the living union of Christ and all believers who derive life from Him as they are continually trusting in Him (John 6:54–56). Let us accept at face value our Savior’s grave and loving warning that it is, indeed, possible for us to forfeit eternal life by failing to keep on remaining in union with Him “who is our

is a play on words between the airei (“takes away”) and the kathairei (“cleanses” or “prunes”) which cannot be expressed in English; the useless branches are removed while the good branches are (Turner & Mantey 1964: 296).

continues to eat my flesh and drink my blood already possess eternal life, and I will raise him to life on the last day” (Williams, emphasis added).

1943: 493, 494, 496–497.

1943: 497. Lincoln (2005: 234) says, “Belief is a continuous activity that enables a person to remain in Jesus....” “He who keeps on eating my flesh and drinking my blood, in me is continually abiding and I in him” (Wuest, emphasis added).

1997: 243. Ridderbos says this is “evident from the present tense [verbs for eating/drinking] in vss. 54, 55, 57, 58” (1997: 243, fn. 165). “The present tense of verbs ‘eat’ and ‘drink’ point to a continuing appropriation” (Laney 1992: 132).

1992: 132. “Present tense [of indicates a continual abiding” (R&R 198). “Whoever continues to eat my flesh and drink my blood continues to live in union with me and I in union with him” (Williams, emphasis added).

1992: 406.

Dean Jr. (2001: 44) believes that what “Jesus is emphasizing here is not union at salvation, but ongoing communion.”

commentators see “union” and “fellowship/communion” as interconnected in the phrase “abiding in Me, and I in him.” For example, Plummer writes, “This is one of ... John’s very characteristic phrases to express the most intimate mutual fellowship and union; 14:10, 20; 15:4, 5, 17:21; 1 John 3:24, 4:15, 16” (1900: 162; cf. Harris 2015: 146). Newman and Nida (1980: 209) state “the meaning is ‘lives in fellowship/union with me and I live in fellowship/union with him.’” We would argue that a relational/saving union with Christ is primarily in view in John 6:56 without denying that such a life-giving union involves intimate fellowship and communion with Jesus.

have already argued for this understanding earlier.

Stanley (2006: 155) says remain] [is] often used synonymously for life (see esp. John 6:53–58).” Mounce’s 1208: abide, to be in close and settled union, Jn. 6:56; 14:10; 15:4.”

(2008: 81) rightly states, “‘eating’ Jesus’ flesh and ‘drinking’ his blood denote coming and believing in the one who is lifted up on the cross (cf. 3:14–15)” with the result being “a life-giving relationship with Jesus of mutual indwelling (v. 56). The parallelism between verse 54a and verse 56 indicates that eternal life essentially consists of the remaining of the believer in Jesus and vice versa.”

connection between John 6:56 and John 15 is self-evident in the parallel wording “abides in Me, and I in him” used in both teachings by Jesus. “This is the first mention in this gospel of ‘mutual indwelling’ .... This spiritual, even mystical, union is developed in Jesus’ last discourse (14–17)—especially in the section on the vine and the branches (15:1–11)” (Comfort & Hawley 2009: 115–116; cf. Osborne 2007: 106).

commentators see John 15:1–8 as a “parable,” but we are unconvinced since it has no plot Osborne 2007: 224). Jesus’ teaching is better categorized as an allegory since an allegory is a story that uses an extensive amount of correspondence—that is, most or many of the details in the story represent something or carry some specific nuance of meaning. Greidanus defines it as “an extended metaphor—that is, a number of elements in the story make up a string of metaphors which have a deeper unified meaning” (Duvall & Hays 2005: 188; cf. Osborne 2007: 224).

1963: 234–235.

the foot-washing time, Jesus told His disciples, “You are clean but not all of you” (John 13:10). Judas was the one who was unclean and shortly afterward left to betray Jesus (13:30). We agree with commentators who see the foot-washing experience as symbolizing the cleansing from sin that occurs as a result of Christ’s impending sacrificial death on the cross Carson 1990: 465; Witherington 1995: 237).

1943: 1031. BDAG 489: “pertaining to being free from moral guilt, free from sin.” John Wesley: “purged from the guilt and power of sin” (1818: 265).

2003: 2:997. So Brown 1970: 660; Morris 1971: 595; Carson 1990: 515–516.

important part of this preparation is Jesus’ message to His disciples in John 14:1b—“keep on believing in God, and keep on believing in me” (Beasley-Murray 1991: 110; Horton 1965: 62). This emphasis on trusting is contained in the command “Remain in Me” (John 15:4), which requires an ongoing trust in Jesus according to what He stated in John 6:56.

1995: 255.

EDNT 3:248. Barrett (1978: 484) states that skandalizō “means ‘to cause to give up the Christian faith.’” Keener says it “refers to apostasy” (2003: 2:1025, fn. 340; So Gundry 2010: 437). Chennattu (2006: 119) argues for a sevenfold structure of John 15:18–16:24, where “the center is the purpose of Jesus’ warning: to prevent the disciples from apostasy (16:1).”

A Persecution: the world will hate you (15:18–20)

B Reason: they do not know Him who sent Me (15:21–25)

C Reward: the gift of the Paraclete (15:26–27)

D Purpose: to prevent the disciples from apostasy (16:1)

A′ Persecution: they will expel you from the synagogues (16:2)

Bʹ Reason: they have not known the Father, nor Me (16:3)

Cʹ Reward: the gift of the Paraclete (16:4–24)

2004: 327.

2004: 327. “Jesus now is trying to prevent a situation in the future where unanticipated persecution might cause them to forsake the faith and give up their allegiance [to Him]” (Turner & Mantey 1964: 312).

should be noted that Carson is a classical Calvinist who does not believe any Christ-follower can commit apostasy. Therefore, this great “danger” of apostasy is no danger at all, and we are left wondering why Jesus would warn His disciples about the possibility of committing apostasy when (in Carson’s understanding) Jesus knows full well that He makes it impossible for them to do so. Osborne (2007: 231) rightly states, “The great danger [for the disciples here is] abandoning the faith—apostasy. He [Jesus] had already presented this danger in the vine and branches illustration (cf. 15:2, 6).”

Mickelsen 1963: 232, except we added verse 2 to “the branches” category.

note that Mickelsen’s explanation of the allegory covers verses 1–10, whereas we hold that verses 1–8 form the first section in this discourse Carson 1990: 510–511).

1963: 232.

union between the Vine and the branches is characterized by the expression ‘in me.’ But this union can be broken. The Father cuts off every branch ... that bears no (Comfort & Hawley 2009: 198).

1963: 233. We agree with Carson (1990: 517) when he writes:

There has been considerable dispute over the nature of the ‘fruit’ that is envisaged: the fruit, we are told, is obedience, or new converts, or love, or Christian character. These interpretations are reductionistic. The branch’s purpose is to bear much fruit (v. 5), but the next verses show that the ‘fruit’ in the vine imagery represents everything that is the product of effective prayer in Jesus’ name, including obedience to Jesus’ command (v. 10), experience of Jesus’ joy (v. 11—as earlier his peace, 14:27), love for one another (v. 12), and witness to the world (vv. 16, 27). This fruit is nothing less than the outcome of persevering dependence on the vine, driven by faith, embracing all of the believer’s life and the product of his witness.

1963: 233–234, brackets are his.

EDNT 2:407.

only notes three of the four uses. Witherington (1995: 258) notes that the verb for remain “in vv. 4ff. is in the present and continual tense.” “The fact that ‘abide’ ... occurs in the present tense here [v. 4b] heightens and intensifies the necessity of continuously abiding in Christ” (Turner & Mantey 1964: 298).

WP 5:258, gives the translation “keep on abiding.”

1943: 1034.

1995: 258. Rekha Chennattu convincingly argues from the gospel of John, and especially from John 13–17, that Johannine discipleship is about being in a covenant relationship with God, through Christ, by the Spirit (see her book Johannine Discipleship as a Covenant

& Hawley (2009: 198) write: “[The disciple/believer] is charged to remain in union with the Vine. The Greek word for ‘abide’ is an aorist verb in the imperative mood. The verb here is constative; it encompasses the entire act of abiding and views it as a single event. Then, in the following sentences, Jesus uses present-tense verbs to describe the continual activity involved in maintaining oneness with him.”

246. So Thayer 211. L&N 1:793: represents] a marker of close personal association—‘in, one with, in union with, joined closely to’ [in John 15:4; John 10:38; Rom 8:9; 1 John 2:24; and Gal 2:20].”

DJG 2.

John 15:1–6 the disciples are already in union with Jesus, and the emphasis is on remaining in that union” (Brown 1970: 666). “The Lord does not say ... ‘Join yourselves to me,’ for they were already in Him, as branches in the tree; .... Yet the union must not only be formed, it must be maintained, they continuing to live in Him, he continuing to pour His life into them...” (Swete 1913: 76).

have no power of themselves to bear fruit ... unless they maintain their inner union with Jesus Christ, and thus draw spiritual life and nourishment from the root” (Swete 1913: 76). “The life of the believer is to be lived entirely in union with Jesus and in dependence on his presence. All branches have life only to the extent that they are attached to the vine, and fruitfulness is completely dependent on life-giving sap from the vine” (Osborne 2007: 225).

EDT 2.

remain in Jesus is to believe in him always” (Lenski 1943: 1032). Disciples remain in union through: “the continued exercise of humble faith” (Benson 1854: 633); “by a living, obedient faith” (Binney & Steele 1879: 289). “Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain [aorist imperative just like in v. 4a, “Remain in Me”] in My If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love” (John 15:9–10, emphasis added).

1929: 2:481.

have as necessary and constant a dependence upon the grace of the Mediator for the whole of the spiritual and the divine life, as we have upon the providence of the Creator for all the actions of the natural life: as to both, it is in and by the divine power that we live, and move, and have our being” (Benson 1854: 633). For a defense of God’s prevenient grace, see W. Brian Shelton, Prevenient Grace: God’s Provision for Fallen Humanity and Thomas Oden, The Transforming Power of

have asserted that, despite John 15:4, verse 16 indicates that the choice really lies with Christ, rather than with the disciples: “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you” They have erred in assuming that the choice in verse 16 is with respect to salvation. Christ chose them to be His apostles to serve in furthering the Gospel message after He left, as indicated by context (vv. 15–27). Luke 6:13, Mark 3:14, John 6:70; 13:18, and Acts 1:2 all give reference to Christ’s same act of choosing: the choice of certain ones of His disciples to be His apostles. Whitacre (1999: 308) agrees, “This is not a reference to salvation, but rather to service, since the rest of the verse speaks of being appointed ... to go and bear fruit (Beasley-Murray 1987:275).”

[command to remain] immediately shows any disciple that there is responsibility on his part.... Christ had taught earlier of a mutual responsibility (6:56; 15:4)” (Unmack, EDT 2). “The teaching of the Fourth Gospel maintains throughout a moral dimension that assumes individual responsibility. It is a relationship that always begins with the divine initiative, but which calls for a human response: ‘Abide in me ... abide in my word ... abide in my love’ (15:4, 7, 9)” (Kynes, DJG 3).

2006: 141 and Lenski 1943: 1032. We should note that the two “if” statements in verses 6 and 7: “If anyone is not remaining in Me,” and “If you remain in me,” are presented in Greek as “two grammatically equal possibilities” (Picirilli, “Editor’s Note on John 15:2, 6: Does Jesus Refer to Apostasy?” as found in Stallings 1989: 215). Otto (2002: 24) says these Greek “third class conditions in vv 6–7 ... indicate the real possibility of apostasy” for the disciples of Jesus. “The question essentially aimed at the disciples is pointed: will they remain, or will they fall away” (Stube 2006: 144). Since discipleship is relational and sustained by a continuous belief response, this necessarily “implies that there is a possibility of ... breaking off one’s relationship with Jesus and defecting”—the “real possibility of apostasy” (Bennema 2007: 251, 252. Cf. 140).

2005: 404.

teaching in John 15 was used “to warn [God’s people] against faithlessness and uselessness to Jesus,” “to warn ... about the dangers of apostasy [from Jesus]” (Manning 2004: 146, 147).

are following the in verse 6, except for first part, where we follow Robertson’s translation “keep on abiding” 5:258) for the present active subjunctive of menō in v. 4b, that is also found in verse 6. Thornhill has “If anyone is not remaining in Me.” “If anyone is not abiding in Me.”

28–29: “to take away, remove, or seize control without suggestion of lifting up, take away, Of branches cut off J[ohn] 15:2.” Thayer 16: take off or away what is attached to anything: ... to rend away, cut off, John 15:2.” Robinson 20: take away, to simply, the idea of lifting etc. being dropped; usually with the notion of violence, authority, etc.... Spoken of branches, to cut off, John 15:2.”

We agree with Carson (1990: 518) that airō does not have the meaning “lifting up” in this context as some suggest.

2003: 2:1001. So Picirilli, “Editor’s Note,” 1989: 215.

1943: 1037 and Stube 2006: 144.

2003: 2:1001. J. Wallace 1855: 78 sees John 15:6 as teaching “hopeless apostasy.” Cf. Manning 2004: 135, “branches that do not bear fruit are apostate and worthless.” Keener (2003: 2:1001) says, “it is probable” that verses 2 and 6 are addressing the same apostate branches. Oropeza (2011: 200) also says they are “probably the same” (cf. Barrett 1978: 473, 475; Pate 2015: 159). We would argue that a “probable” assessment is not strong enough. Contextually, a high level of certainty should be asserted.

1943: 1029. It is through “the constant exercise of faith” that disciples “persevere in their union” with Jesus (co*ke 1803: 1:874).

DJG 187. Whereas Mickelsen (1963: 233) failed to explicitly explain what John 15:6 entails for those disciples who fail to constantly remain in union with Jesus, Hahn and Mitch (2003: 47) are quite explicit: “Damnation awaits every branch that withers away from Christ and becomes worthless (Mt 3:10; Heb 6:4–8).”

2001: 98.

is warning these disciples who are now ‘in Him’ not to sever that relationship lest they wither and die and be cast into the ... Being cast into the fire undoubtedly means being cast into hell (cf. Matthew 3:8–12, 7:19, 13:42, 25:41)” (Butler 1965: 274–275). To “be thrown into the fire ... [is] surely a reference to hell” Harrington 2021: 510. Meyer (1884: 432, fn. 4) says, is intended (Matthew 13:42; 25:41; 3:10; 7:19; 5:22, et

find it hermeneutically irresponsible for some once-saved-always-saved teachers to first use Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 3:15 (“saved through fire”) to interpret Jesus’ teaching in John 15:6. One should be interpreting Jesus’ teaching in John 15:1–8 in its immediate and larger context then survey the teachings of Jesus (rather than Paul) to find anything that might offer additional help in understanding Jesus’ teaching on “they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned” (15:6).

BDAG 898: “The fire of hell is also meant in certain parables and allegories, in which trees and vines represent persons worthy of punishment Mt 3:10; 7:19; Lk 3:9; J[ohn] 15:6.” Others reference works see this thrown into the “fire” in John 15:6 as representing “hell” (Lunde, DJG 310–311; Phillips, BTDB 338–339), or its equivalent phrase: “the eschatological [i.e., future and final] judgment of God” (Bietenhard, NIDNTT 1:656–57; cf. Lichtenherger, EDNT 3:198). Renn 387: “More commonly [than a literal ‘fire’], ‘fire’ is indicated symbolically as the instrument of divine wrath (Mat. 3:12; 25:41; Mar. 9:43 ff.; Luk. 3:17; Joh. 15:6; Hebrews 10:27; 2Pe. 3:7; Jude 1:7; Rev. 14:10; 16:8; 19:20; 20:9 ff.; 21:8).” In Four Views on Second Edition (2016: 200), Preston Sprinkle sees “God’s judgment upon the wicked ... [as] a rather pervasive theme in the New Testament. We see this in a myriad of images that described the final state of the wicked as burned up chaff, weeds, and branches (Matthew 3:12; 7:19; 13:40; John 15:6).” Stephen Travis says this “throwing away” language in verse 6,

Is less reminiscent of viticultural practice than of the Synoptic use of the same verb or with reference to eschatological judgment (e.g. Mk. 9:45, 47; Mt. 3:10; 8:12; 13:50; cf. Jn. 6:37; 12:31). There is therefore a good case for saying that 15:6 affirms the possibility that a disciple who ceases to abide in Christ is severed from salvation through Christ.... The believer may cease to maintain a relationship with Christ and ultimately be ‘thrown away’ [as an unbeliever] (2009: 272, 274).

are more passages from the teachings of Jesus found in the gospels that use this same language for the final destiny of unbelievers (Matthew 5:29–30; 8:12; 18:8–9; 22:13; 25:30; Mark 9:45–48; Luke 12:4–5; 13:28). John the Baptist and the author of Revelation also employ the same type of language that Jesus used for the fate of unbelievers and evil angels (Matthew 3:10, 12; par. Luke 3:9, 17; Rev. 19:20; 20:10–15; cf. 14:9–11; 21:8, 27; 22:14–15).

have added the italics in each of the following passages to help the reader more readily see the similar language used throughout Christ’s teaching. We are following the translation for John 15:6 as described in footnote #51 above.

(2010: 273) says this imagery of judgment is similar to what we find in John 15:2 and 6.

on the parables of final judgment (Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43), Hultgren (2000: 297) notes: “The imagery of harvest is a biblical symbol for the final judgment (Isa 27:12; Hosea 6:11; Joel 3:13; 2 Esdr 4:28–32; 9:17, 31–35; Mark 4:29; Matt 3:12//Luke 3:17; Rev 14:15), and burning by fire a symbol for divine punishment (Jer 29:22; 2 Esdr 7:36; 1 Enoch 108:3; Matt 3:10//Luke 3:9; Matt 13:50; 18:8–9; 25:41; Luke 9:54; John 15:6; Heb 10:27; Jude 7, 23; Rev 19:20; 20:9; 21:8).”

Meyer 1884: 432. Bennema (2008: 165) argues (from different passages in the teachings of Jesus than us) that it is who will gather up disciples who fail to abide in Jesus, and concludes: “Verse 6, then, may be speaking of the apostasy or defection of disciples, which cause them to dry up spiritually (v. 6a), and eventually be thrown into the eternal fire on the final judgment (v. 6b).” We would argue on the basis of the evidence presented, that we can be certain in saying that Jesus intended verse 6 to be referring to disciples who commit apostasy (become unbelievers) and their resultant casting into the fire of hell by God’s Thus, some translators are in error to have “men” or “people” who do this gathering and casting into the fire.

Oropeza 2011: 202–203; co*ke 1803: 1:869, 874. German Lutheran theologian Christoph Ernest Luthardt (1823–1902) arrived at this same conclusion:

Verse 6. This verse shows how necessary such a remaining in Christ is.... Where this [remaining] is lacking, the judgment comes in.... There may therefore occur—against the doctrine of predestination [as defined by Calvinists]—a real apostasy of such as have been really disciples of Jesus.... [In v. 6] Jesus desires to speak threateningly: hence he speaks in this form. He who apostatizes [i.e., becomes an unbeliever] is cast out, namely, out of the vineyard of the kingdom of God. The casting comes only after the apostasy, but it comes surely. But cut from the vine and thrown away, the branch has but for a short time the life-sap in itself; it will at once be said ... (‘it is withered’).... The rest, then, is the ... (‘gathering,’ ‘throwing into the fire,’ and ‘burning’), that is, the final judgment. The servants of the ... (‘husbandman,’ v. 1; or “vinedresser;” “gardener,” are the gatherers ... these are the angels, Matthew 13:41.... [Thrown] into the fire, namely: which is prepared for this; compare Matthew 13:42, 25:41, Gehenna [i.e., Hell]. That will then be their condition. And the end: ‘and they burn!’ (1878: 3:145–146).

1992: 1635. We agree with J. Matthew Pinson: “This is one of the strongest texts in the New Testament teaching the possibility of apostasy” (2022: 351).

1874: 102, emphasis added.

1837: 1:627. We would add that only a branch that is attached to the vine can become off by the gardener.

1874: 99–100.

1847: 108.

all who would define the branches as mere professors outwardly associated with the visible Church must require Jesus to refer, not to Himself, but to the Church as “the vine.” But Jesus did not say, “The Church is the vine,” but rather, am the vine.” Nor did He speak of “branches in the Church,” but of “branches in It is troubling to see some reduce our Lord’s grave, heart-searching discourse to the level of the mere external by insisting that He had reference to nothing more than outward affiliation with the visible Church by professed Christians who were actually unbelievers.

1995: 258.

& Mantey 1964: 303–304 write:

Fidelity to the analogy of the vine requires that we admit the possibility of a live branch being severed if it fails to produce fruit.... The cutting off and burning of branches is largely meaningless if limited to what was never actually connected to the vine and the repeated exhortation that the branches “abide” is needless if there is no possibility of being severed from Christ.... It follows that Jesus was thinking of Christians who became apostates [i.e., unbelievers], who heard the message and who accepted it and who fell away, who abandoned their faith, and who became traitors to the Master whom they had once pledged themselves to serve.

NINE

Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 3)

We just looked at several teachings from Jesus where He warns believers about the possibility of severing their saving relationship with Him through unbelief. Such unbelief can manifest itself in unloving and sinful disobedience to the revealed will of God. We saw that persecutions, allowing sin to run unchecked by repentance, and being deceived by others through false teaching can lead a believer to commit apostasy (become an unbeliever). Now we will look at some warnings Paul delivers to believers regarding false teachers.

False teachers were an ongoing threat to the early Christian community, and Paul was committed to warning Christ-followers about their demonic-inspired teachings that could lead believers into apostasy. Paul writes to a young pastor named Timothy and says,

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines.... But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.... This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. (1Timothy 1:3, 5–7, 18–20,

Paul later writes:

the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some of the faith will by being devoted to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been forbidding to marry, demanding abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who are faithful and know the truth, since all of God’s creation is good, and nothing is unclean if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer. (1Timothy 4:1–5,

Although this apostasy is to take place in the “last times,” Paul “views this event as already taking place in his own time (cf. 2Timothy 3:1–9; In addition, this apostasy is most likely not “from the faith,” as most translations have it, but more accurately “some of the faith will fall away or After examining the New Testament occurrences of William Mounce says, “in the vast majority of cases if there is a recipient of the verb’s action, it will most likely be indicated by a preposition and will immediately follow the

Hence, in 1Timothy 4:1, which has no preposition following ἀφίστημι fall away], “the faith” would seem to modify the indefinite pronoun “some” rather [than] the verb “fall away.” If so, then the who will fall away are identified as faithful church These ones who apostatize are not fake believers but real The nature of their apostasy involves devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and demonic These teachings are no doubt promulgated by the false teachers Satanic spiritual forces are viewed as being the inspiration of their false teachings, and these powers are mentioned as a way to vilify the teachers (1Timothy 5:15; 2Timothy 2:25–26). Some of the believers will fall away by following the opponents’ teachings that have been influenced by anti-god powers (1Timothy It is affirmed here that more apostasies of those who possessed faith will take place similar to the defections of Hymenaeus and Alexander (1Timothy 1:19; cf. 1:6). In the Pastoral Letters, then, final salvation is futuristic, with the real potential to have one’s faith undermined, making it all the more important for these Christians to take seriously the need to endure through potential

In light of these deceptions carried out by false teachers, Paul turns to encouraging and admonishing Timothy:

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, for “the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. Practice these things; be committed to so that your progress may be evident to all. Pay close to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by this you will save both yourself and your (1Timothy 4:6–16,

With Paul’s final exhortation in verse 16 “comes the reason why Paul is so persistent and concerned, because what is at stake is salvation for Timothy and his As Gordon Fee says, “the language may not be theologically precise, but the meaning is clear. Salvation involves perseverance; and Timothy’s task in Ephesus is to model and teach the gospel in such a fashion that it will lead the church to perseverance in faith and love and hence to final ... Therefore, obtaining final salvation “is not automatic, even for Timothy. He must persevere in faith to be saved eternally, and to be the instrument to save The directions Paul gives to this pastor are

applicable to ministers of all times, stands in judgment on those who neglect the teaching of Scripture, consume themselves with arguments about words devoid of godliness, bring reproach upon the church by their sinful lives, refuse to immerse themselves in the things of God, and as a result are destroying not only themselves but also those who listen and follow their example. Conversely, it is a word of encouragement and hope to those who are faithful to the apostolic example and teaching of the

When one’s saving relationship with God through Christ is at stake, false teachers must be exposed and confronted. Paul does this in his letter “to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia” (2Corinthians 1:1,

I hope you will put up with in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised [“betrothed,” you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid [“fearing,” that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray [“seduced away,” from your and pure to For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2Corinthians 11:1–15,

Paul ironically asks the Corinthians who “put up with” another Jesus, and a different spirit and gospel, to “put up with” a little foolishness from him. Paul has earlier repudiated his opponents’ attempts to commend and boast about themselves (10:12–18). It is foolish to engage in such boasting, “but if he ignores the slurs of rivals who have maligned him, the church might be persuaded that they were on target. If he stoops to their level by boasting, he is a fool. But if he does not defend himself, he might lose the congregation to even greater Indeed, the Corinthians are being led cunningly into apostasy by these false apostles and Paul cannot sit back and do “His zeal for the church whom he betrothed to Christ compels him to try to protect them from being seduced and defiled by double agents of Satan

The Jewish understanding of betrothal and marriage is fitting for Paul’s protectiveness since he loves them (2Corinthians 11:11) and views himself as their “father in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1Corinthians

Among the Jews, betrothal was the first stage of marriage, and it took place at a very early age. Unlike betrothal in the modern era, Jewish betrothal in the first century was not something that was entered into lightly, nor was it easily broken. The betrothal could be canceled only by an official bill of divorce. If a betrothed woman had sexual relations with any other man, it was treated as adultery. The betrothed couple did not live together until the marriage ceremony when they entered the wedding canopy and the marriage blessings were recited. A year therefore normally passed before the woman moved to her husband’s home where they would take up common residence. The responsibility of safeguarding his daughter’s virginity fell to the father (see Deut 22:13–21). This image of betrothal suggests that the Corinthians’ marriage to Christ awaits consummation when Paul will present them to him at the Parousia [i.e., the return of Christ]. In the meantime they keep the spiritual father of the bride on tenterhooks [i.e., in a state of uneasiness] lest she be defiled and disqualified for the marriage. He feels a divine jealousy, as any father would, to preserve the purity of the bride for her

Paul demonstrates a divine jealousy that characterizes God Himself in the Old “God is a ‘jealous God’ who is provoked when Israel is unfaithful to him (Exodus Paul sees the church (“a pure virgin” bride) standing in a covenant relationship with Christ, their “one husband.” “Undivided (‘total’) devotion and purity are prerequisites for a continuing relationship to but Paul fears this relationship is in jeopardy due to false apostles introducing them to “another To flirt with “another Jesus” is to open oneself up to committing spiritual

Paul confesses that he is “afraid” they could violate their covenantal commitment. This is an entirely unwarranted emotion coming from someone who supposedly taught that Christians are unconditionally and eternally secure. Yet, this is an emotion that Paul has stated elsewhere (Galatians 4:8–11) when he fears his converts are in danger of committing apostasy from Christ due to the influence of false

Paul’s fears are not imaginary but real, for just as Satan deceived Eve in the garden, so Satan’s servants are deceiving Christians in In their they are being “led astray” or “seduced cf. from their “‘singleminded’ and purity to To be seduced away from remaining faithful to their marital commitment to Christ is “spiritual To fall in love with “another Jesus” is to sever one’s covenant relationship with the only Jesus that Paul preached, the Jesus through whom God saves people by their trust in Him (1Corinthians Here we have “echoes of Israel’s apostasy in terms of marital unfaithfulness to God resonate in Paul’s words about the Corinthians relationship with Christ (e.g., Ezekiel 16; Hosea

Paul goes on in verses 13–15 to launch “a frontal assault on his

These superapostles are in reality pseudo-apostles.... He cannot compare himself with these so-called luminaries because there is no comparison between a true apostle and a false apostle. They are deceitful (crafty, crooked) workers (see 2:17; 4:2).... They may deceive themselves and others that they are doing God’s work, but their narcissism and superior air reveals that they serve someone other than God. They only masquerade as apostles in the same way that Satan masquerades as an angel of light.... The argument runs, if Satan disguises himself with the raiment of righteousness, then so will his minions. The rivals are no different from the master they serve.... Paul next accuses these rivals of disguising themselves as “ministers of righteousness.” In 3:9 he describes his own ministry as a “ministry of righteousness” “the ministry that brings righteousness”). His gospel proclaims that God made Christ “who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (5:21). The rivals pose as participants in this same ministry that leads to righteousness and is undergirded by the Spirit. They are frauds. Paul does not pinpoint the particulars of their false theology but focuses more on their boasting beyond measure. It is their demeanor and behavior that reveal them to be ministers of Satan rather than of righteousness. “Ministers of righteousness” are those who live righteously, not those who purport to be righteous or to preach a righteous message. “Ministers of righteousness” remove the veil of hardheartedness and by the Spirit lead God’s new covenant people to be transformed into the image of Christ—to be Christlike (3:12–17). They renounce shameful things and deceitful practices (4:2). They also repudiate all fleshly boasting and boast only in the Lord. These persons are therefore not simply deceitful rivals of Paul. As servants of Satan, they are rivals of God (cf. Acts 13:10). “To follow them is to risk Such language may sound harsh, but Paul judges the situation to be perilous, calling for sharp warnings to jar the Corinthians awake.... Their end will be destruction (see Romans 3:8; Philippians and the same will hold true for any who fall sway to

It can hardly be doubted that the Corinthians would have reached this conclusion from what Paul has said. To follow after another Jesus and a different gospel proclaimed by “false apostles” and “servants” of Satan is to join Satan’s team and share in his team’s fate (cf. Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation

Paul’s letter to “the churches of Galatia” (Galatians 1:2) contains a warning about following a different gospel, and other warnings where Paul states that “Nothing less than the curse of the new covenant and the loss of eternal life” will be the fate of his readers if they “fail to heed his warnings and obey the ‘other gospel’ of his Paul’s opponents were “paving” a “road to by “preaching a false gospel of circumcision (1:7; 4:17; 5:7; which “is leading astray Gentile believers in Paul refers them “as ‘agitators’ or ‘troublemakers’ (1:7; 5:10b, 12), clearly not welcoming their ... interpretation of the David deSilva helpfully explains:

They would have most likely have identified themselves as Christian something reflected also in Paul’s admission that they are proclaiming some variation on the gospel (1:6), which he quickly denies the status of being “gospel” at all (1:7). The Galatians Christians, moreover, appear to be giving them a careful and attentive hearing, even standing on the verge of being persuaded by them (1:6; 5:1). Paul does not say much about the specific message of these rival teachers. He does indicate that persuading the gentile converts to receive circumcision was a notable feature of their message (explicitly in 5:2; 6:12–13; indirectly in 5:11–12), probably as a means of securing their place in the family of Abraham, the line of promise (3:6–29), and as a means of combating the power of the flesh (indirectly, 5:13–6:10) and thus experiencing freedom from its power over them so that they can make progress in their new life of godliness (3:3). Their influence coincides with the Galatians’ adoption of some of the calendrical observances prescribed in the Torah, the Jewish law (4:10). Paul’s language suggests that the Galatians’ attraction to these Torah-prescribed observances (alongside a much broader adoption of a Torah-observant practice) and to taking the final plunge of circumcision lay in the rival teachers’ promise that aligning oneself with the commandments of Torah was the surest path to aligning oneself with God’s standards and thus being “justified” before God (“being deemed to be righteous” or ‘brought into line with God’s righteous demands by means of the law,”

However, as Michael Gorman rightly states,

For Paul, Christ is everything or nothing. Either God has inaugurated the new, eschatological age of the Spirit through Christ, or not. Either justification, or life in the Spirit, is received by faith, or not. Either cruciform faith expressing itself through cruciform love is the essence of covenantal existence, or not. Either this is all of grace, or not. Whereas for the circumcisers Christ is necessary but not sufficient, for Paul Christ is either sufficient or else not necessary. Any Gentile Galatians in Christ who are circumcised ... [end up] returning to their former state of slavery (4:9; 5:1), losing any benefit from Christ (5:2) and removing themselves from him and from grace (5:4). Circumcision is a gate into a way of life—obedience to the entire [Mosaic] Law (5:3)—that has had its day but has ended with the coming of the Messiah and his Spirit (3:24). Now anyone—a Gentile or Jew—who is in Christ, by faith, shares in the hope of future righteousness (5:5) and expresses that faith, as Christ did (2:20), in love

“The bottom line issue in Galatians is God saves or justifies Paul explains,

We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for I do not set aside [or “nullify,” “reject,” the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Galatians 2:15–21,

So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham God, and it was credited to him as righteousness Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by The law is not based on on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.... Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who Before the coming of this we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:5–14, 21–29, emphasis added)

God saves/justifies sinners by faith/trust in Christ, not by doing works of the Mosaic law, and a person remains in a saving relationship with God by continuing to trust in Christ (Galatians and living by the Spirit, “the law of Christ” (6:2; cf. 5:1–6, 13–25; Don Garlington writes:

It is just because the bedrock of Galatians is soteriology, and it is just because Paul sees defection from Christ to the [Mosaic] law as taking place “so quickly” in the Galatian congregations that he writes with an intense awareness of the plight of his “children” in the gospel who are in danger of forsaking their Lord for what effectively is no better than their former bondage to pagan deities (4:8–10). In plain terms, the letter is written to avert the apostasy in Galatia. No wonder, Paul’s passions are white hot in this

Paul’s white-hot passion is evident in how he opens this letter:

Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue [“deliver,” us from the present evil according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I am astonished [“amazed,” that you are so quickly deserting [or “turning away from,” the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:1–9,

Paul forgoes his customary thanksgiving because “the seriousness of the situation was such that to mince words would have been to imperil the souls of these “He stands amazed at how quickly the Galatians are deserting God to follow a false Garlington says Paul “may mean ‘so quickly’ after his original preaching to them or after the arrival of the opponents in Galatia. Either way, Paul likely echoes Exodus 32:8 ... and Deuteronomy Both texts describe how Israel was quick to desert their Lord for idols, and the Christians in Galatia “are in the process of repeating Israel’s apostasy” by “‘quickly’ deserting the one who called

The verb for “deserting” is in the present tense and “indicates clearly that when the apostle wrote [this letter] the apostasy of the Galatians was as yet only in This desertion “was not just an intellectual one. Rather, it was a desertion of God as made known in Christ; it was abandoning of their personal relationship with The Christ-followers in Galatia are in danger of accepting a “different gospel,” which is a perversion of the gospel of grace/Christ they originally received from Paul and accepted. If anyone (including angels, or Paul himself) was to preach a perverted gospel, “let them be under God’s curse!” (vv. 8, Scot McKnight (1995: 51) notes:

This word [“curse”] is used in the Old Testament for something consecrated to God for his destruction (cf. Deuteronomy 7:26; Joshua 6:17–18). Paul is not talking here about church discipline; his language is far too strong for He is invoking God’s final damnation and wrath on people who distort the gospel of grace in

Lyons (2012: 64–65) would add:

While the word “hell” never appears in Paul’s letters, this conditional curse has the colloquial force: “may he be condemned to hell!” [cf. This shocking wish was occasioned by the seriousness of the Agitators’ crime. They had perverted the gospel, preached a substitute nongospel, confused his converts, and led them to consider turning away from Christ (1:6–8; compare Matt 18:6 || Mark 9:42 || Luke 17:2).... He put those terrifying the Galatians on notice: Beware of divine judgment. And he warned the Galatians that surrender to the Agitators meant placing “themselves ‘under the curse’” (Betz 1979,

Paul’s readers would have understood what was at stake in following the false gospel of the agitators: it “was to fall into apostasy and stop being a with the resulting consequence of finding themselves condemned to hell by God on Judgment Day along with these peddlers of a false

Paul’s white-hot passion for warning his readers about surrendering to this false gospel of circumcision is further on display in chapter 5:

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand therefore, and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, tell that if you agree to Christ will be of no benefit to you. And furthermore I declare to every man who agrees to circumcision that he is obligated to obey the entire [or “whole,” law. You have cut yourself off from you who are trying to be justified by the law; you have fallen away from For we by the Spirit, through faith, eagerly await the righteousness for which we For in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith expressing itself [or “working,” through love. (Galatians 5:1–6,

B.J. Oropeza captures well Paul’s intended meaning:

Paul warns the Galatians who seek to be circumcised that Christ will be of no benefit to them and they will become debtors to keep “the whole law” (5:2–3), which may be Paul’s abbreviated way of saying that circumcision will obligate them to adopt the total manner of Jewish life and customs.... The assumption here may be that their obligation to the whole Law would require them to follow the Mosaic sacrificial system as the means of atonement from sin—which nullifies, reverts, or renders insufficient the redemptive work of Christ’s death on the cross and all it entails (cf. Gal 1:4; 3:13; 3:23–25; 4:4–6). It dismantles a connection between his death and salvation; in essence, Christ would have died in vain (2:18, 21; 3:22). That Christ would be of no use to them suggests that they would no longer benefit from his atoning death and the redemption it provides (5:2; cf. As such, they would be without Christ when it comes to receiving a favorable verdict at the final judgment (5:5).

In keeping with the circumcision language, Paul warns that if the Galatians get circumcised and follow the works of the Law they will be severed from Christ In other words, if the Galatians cut off their foreskins, they will be cut off from It may strike us as odd how he could warn the Galatians that their getting circumcised would be tantamount to committing apostasy while at the same time maintaining circumcision as merely ineffectual in comparison to faith working through love (cf. Gal 5:6; 1Cor Presumably it is not so much the act of circumcision that cuts off Gentile believers from Christ but what circumcision represents in this case: it becomes a conversion ritual that obligates the neophyte to follow the entire Law (Gal 5:2). If righteousness involves participation “in Christ” and a relationship with him (cf. 1:22; 2:4; 3:26–28; 5:6), then being severed from Christ would be the converse of this: no union or participatory relationship with An individual with this status does not belong to Christ but with those who are under sin’s power in the evil age and will not inherit God’s kingdom (1:4; 6:8; cf. 5:21). Moreover, if the Galatians are to “stand” in Christian liberty (5:1), then to be justified by the works of the Law is to “fall” from grace and be enslaved again under the Law (Gal 5:4; cf. Rom 5:2). In this verse grace may be understood as “the entire process of salvation in Christ.” The works of the Law nullify grace because such works remain bound up with traditions that have already found their full realization in God’s salvific plan through Christ. Grace also focuses on Christ’s substitutionary death (Gal 2:20–21) ... where righteousness/justification comes by faith(fulness) instead of by the works of the Law (2:16–21). Falling from grace, then, would be the reversal of justification by faith(fulness); it involves a complete nullifying of the atoning work of Christ in a believer’s life and the righteousness this

We agree with Craig Keener when he writes that “it would seem special pleading to take Paul’s warnings of apostasy as something less than a real Indeed, to ignore such warnings places the Christian’s saving relationship with Christ in great Since false teachers abound today as they did in Paul’s day, it is imperative for Christian leaders to accurately and faithfully communicate the essential teachings of the Christian faith to their congregants. “Failing to guard the essential doctrines of the faith and allowing alternative teachings about Christ and salvation to sneak in to the church will destroy the Christian faith and lead both the purveyors and the adherents of false religion to eternal Christian leaders (shepherds) who are negligent in the responsibility of guarding their flock from false teachers run the risk of finding all their previous labor among the flock to be “in vain”—to have no saving result in some of its members. This is what Paul feared about his own ministry labors among those in Galatia

One of the negative consequences associated with false teachers is their teaching often leads others to live in a way that is contrary to faith that manifests itself in Christlike love toward others. This appears to be the case in Galatians 5–6. These chapters are best “understood as bringing the argument of Galatians to its proper We find in 5:13–6:10, “one of the most significant in the Pauline corpus for our understanding of Pauline ethics, as Spirit-empowered Christ-likeness, lived out in Christian community as loving servanthood. At issue is not a Spirit-flesh struggle within the believer’s heart, but the sufficiency of the Spirit—over against both the law and the flesh, as God’s replacement of the former and antidote to the

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do [“practice,” such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:13–26)

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption [or “destruction,” but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:1–10).

What matters most to Paul is that Christians are living a life of faith that expresses itself in loving service toward one another. This is done through God’s empowering presence as believers are being led by and keeping in step with the Spirit. The false teacher’s emphasis on following the Mosaic law misses how Paul (and Jesus) saw its fulfilment in loving others. Their “gospel” message argues that one must be circumcised to be in a saving relationship with God. It winds up promoting division, not love in the community. Fellow believers are biting and devouring one another (v.15) and envying one another (v.26). The perverted gospel of the false teachers is leading Jews and Gentiles to challenge one another over who can properly be considered a member of God’s covenant community. If this infighting continues, Paul warns them, “watch out that you are not consumed by one another” (v.15). Such behavior is destructive and characteristic of unbelievers—those living according to the flesh—and contrary to faith, love, and life lived through the power of the Spirit. Oakes observes,

there is an interesting shape to the list of “works of the flesh.” Martinus de Boer (2011, 358–59) follows J.B. Lightfoot (1890, 210) and others in dividing them into four groups: sexual misconduct, religious misconduct, sources of communal discord [hostilities, strife, jealousy, rages, selfish-interests, dissentions, factions, envy], and excessive drinking and its consequences. Remarkably, eight of the fifteen works are in the “communal discord” group. This includes several excessively close synonyms. Paul piles up the pressure on vices that go against unity. The list of “works of the flesh” contributes to the letter’s rhetoric on unity. Morever, the list ends with a dire warning against those who do these If, as looks likely, there is actual divisiveness among the Galatians as a result of the arrival of Paul’s opponents, his warning is effectively seeking to pull the Galatians out of this situation, back into united acceptance of his gospel and, with it, the life of Spirit, which generates very different

Paul directs this dire warning to “I am warning as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” (Galatians 5:21b, emphasis Paul’s “emphasis here, as in 1Corinthians 6:9–11 and Ephesians 5:5, is to warn believers not to live as unbelievers, those who are destined to experience the wrath of God (Colossians Indeed, if believers in living like unbelievers, they will eventually become an unbeliever and share in their destiny—they will not “inherit” or “partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s when it comes in all its fullness in the new heaven and new earth (Revelation In short, “they will forfeit their chance of final with God and His people.

Even though Paul speaks negatively here concerning the destiny of unbelievers, his readers would have understood the positive implication—believers in union with Christ, living by faith and love through the power of the Spirit, will inherit the Kingdom of Revelation 21 probably “summarizes best what the NT has to say about the

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed-away. And there is no longer a sea. And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—coming down out of heaven from God, having been prepared like a bride having been adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying “Behold—the dwelling of God is with mankind. And He will dwell with them. And they themselves will be His peoples. And God Himself with them will be their God. And He will wipe-away every tear from their eyes. And there will no longer be death, nor will there be mourning nor crying nor pain any longer, because the first things passed away”. And the One sitting on the throne said, “Behold—I am making all things new”. And he says, “Write, because these words are trustworthy and true”. And He said to me, “They are done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one thirsting, I will give from the spring of the water of life as-a-gift.” (Revelation 21:1–6,

Believers dwelling with God and His people in a beautiful new world free of pain and death is our future inheritance. This is confirmed in the next verses, where we see who will receive this inheritance.

The one overcoming will inherit these things, and I will be God to him and he will be a son to Me. But for the cowardly ones, and unbelieving [“unfaithful,” ones, and ones having been abominable, and murderers, and sexually-immoral ones, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the liars—their part [“share,” will be in the lake burning with fire and sulphur, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:7–8,

Overcoming is not optional if one wants to inherit the new Jerusalem and live with God throughout eternity. In the book of Revelation, “Overcoming means remaining faithful to the Lord in the face of moral and doctrinal compromise, even at the cost of martyrdom” (see Revelation If a Christ-follower fails to remain faithful to the Lord, they will become one of the cowardly or the unfaithful and share in their destiny—the second death. “[Share] is the language of inheritance, a deliberate contrast with the inheritance of the overcomers in

There will be no greater contrast between what believers and unbelievers will inherit in the future. Contrary to the opinion of some once-saved-always-saved Paul’s warning about not inheriting the kingdom of God “means exactly what we generally interpret it to mean: The person who lives in such sins will not live with God’s children in Their eternal destiny is

Paul’s discussion does not end with this warning in Galatians 5:19–21, for he moves on to discuss the fruit of the Spirit. That love is featured first on the list should not come as any surprise since “Paul has already accorded it such a place in this argument (5:6, Furthermore, love stands in utter contradiction to the self-centeredness reflected in the “works of the flesh.” Faith working itself out in love spells the end to “the works of the flesh” that are dividing the

Paul goes on, in 6:1–6, to give a number of imperatives that illustrate how Christians keeping in step with the Spirit will behave in their day-to-day relationships. This section expands on 5:13–14, and “what it means to ‘fulfill the law’ through loving service to one

Paul’s words in Galatians 6:7–10 are best viewed as concluding his argument that began at 5:13.

Don’t be deceived [or “Stop being deceived,” God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one sowing to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one sowing to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work [lit. “be working,” for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith. (Gal. 6:7–11,

Paul does not want believers to be deceiving and “is concerned that believers may ‘mock’ God by not taking seriously his word of warning about the judgment to The warning uses the imagery of sowing and reaping, with sowing referring to a person’s actions and reaping referring to the consequences that will follow such actions on judgment This connection between sowing and reaping with its corresponding consequence is clearly defined by how it is

a the one who keeps on sowing

b to his own flesh

from the flesh

will reap

but

a the one who keeps on sowing

b to the Spirit

bʹ from the Spirit

aʹ will reap eternal

Paul’s teaching here is parallel with his earlier teaching in chapter 5:

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6).

Living/Walking by the Spirit	→	will not fulfill the desires of the flesh
	→	produces fruit of the Spirit (love, etc.)
	→	will inherit the kingdom of God (implied)
Keeps on sowing to the Spirit	→	will reap eternal life from the
	→	will reap while doing good if we do not give
	→	working good to everyone, especially
Practicing works of the flesh	→	will not inherit the kingdom of God
Keeps on sowing to the	→	will reap corruption/destruction from the

Paul asked his Gentile converts earlier, “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2–3). They had the right beginning, but they would be fools to give into the false teachers “means of completing their Christian Their gospel is wreaking havoc in the community with fleshly division. Paul will not stand for this, and warns Christians that if they continue doing the works of the flesh like the unbeliever, they will find themselves on judgment day as an unbeliever and sharing in their same destiny—“eternal the opposite of eternal and “exclusion from the kingdom of Simply put, “they will go to However, if Christians, by faith and through the power of the Holy keep on sowing to the Spirit they will bear the fruit of love in community with one another and reap “eternal from the Spirit and find themselves dwelling with God and His people in His Kingdom.

Paul has warned his fellow Christians throughout this letter in an attempt to persuade them to follow his Christ-centered Gospel message rather than the one proclaimed by the false teachers. Both have messages with different focuses and that lead others to different destinies. They must continue to live by faith and express it through love by the Spirit if they want their good beginning to have a good

In another teaching, we find Paul highlighting the Spirit as the one who empowers and enables the Christian to put to death fleshly living. In Romans 8, we have a chapter bracketed with two wonderful promises for the believers in

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our (Romans 8:38–39, emphasis

For those in union with Christ Jesus, these promises are indeed precious. Yet, right in the midst of these promises, Paul gives a warning directed specifically to those in Christ and indwelt with the Holy Spirit:

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the you will live (Romans 8:12–13,

The “[So then] indicates a compelling conclusion drawn from what has just been said. Since that conclusion is the exhortation not to live in accordance with the flesh, the implication must be that that possibility was in no wise excluded by the preceding In the preceding exposition (8:1–11), Paul provides a clear contrast between the saved and the unsaved:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life [or “life-giving Spirit,” in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you

The two groups of people are characterized by several sets of

The unsaved or those “in the flesh” (verse 8,

•walk/live according to the flesh (vv.4, 5)

•set their minds on the things of the flesh (vv.5, 6)

•are destined for “death” (v.6)

•are hostile towards God (v.7)

•do not submit to God’s law (v.7)

•cannot please God

The saved or those “in (verses 1, 2, and 10,

•are in a relational standing of “no condemnation” (v.1)

•have been set free from the law of sin and death by the life-giving Spirit (v.2)

•walk/live according to the Spirit (vv.4, 5)

•set their minds on the things of the Spirit (vv.5, 6)

•are destined for “life and peace” (v.6)

•are indwelt by the Spirit of God/Christ (vv.9, 11)

•belong to Christ (implied, v.9)

•will receive [resurrection] “life” through the indwelling Spirit (v.11,

Paul moves from describing the contrasting mindsets, lifestyles, and destinies of the unsaved and saved to a piercing warning addressed to his saved brothers and sisters in union with Paul says “we are” not under obligation to be living according to the flesh. “With the first person plural [‘we are’] Paul takes care to include himself;... he needs to exercise the same ethical Paul then sets out two possible ways in which believers can be living with two corresponding destinies:

for if you are according to the flesh

you must die

but if by the Spirit you are putting to the deeds of the body,

you will live

If a believer goes back to living like the unbeliever (according to the flesh), they will become an unbeliever and “die But if believers, by the Spirit who empowers them, continue putting to the death the deeds of the body they will live

Jack Cottrell agrees and sees this text as “a solemn warning, stressing the danger of continuing to live the lifestyle of the flesh now that we are in the To do so is to “die,” which “cannot mean die physically, for that will happen regardless. Thus, it means die spiritually by reverting to an unsaved condition; or die eternally in hell. Actually these cannot be separated; those who are spiritually dead will die the eternal This passage strongly affirms the possibility of apostasy (i.e., a believer reverting to an unsaved an Of course, those clinging to “once saved, always saved” teaching deny Douglas Moo (1996: 494–495) says the truly saved Christian “while often committing ‘fleshly’ acts, will be infallibly [i.e., irresistibly] prevented from living a fleshly lifestyle by the Spirit within,” and this “in no way mitigates the seriousness of the warning Paul gives Cottrell (1996: 475) states,

Such comments are incredible in view of the fact that Paul here directs this warning specifically to his “brothers” (v.12). He is not speaking of an anonymous “anyone” (v.9) who is not a true Christian, but is speaking directly to these brothers in second person plural: “If you live according to the flesh, you will die To say that it cannot really happen “in no way mitigates the seriousness of the warning,” and to say that the Spirit will “infallibly prevent” the very thing he warns against, approaches the limits of spiritual confusion. Of course it mitigates the seriousness of the warning! If living according to the flesh is impossible for Christians, then this “warning” is meaningless to the very ones to whom it is addressed, and it can be totally ignored.

But the Christian cannot ignore this serious warning or its precious promise—“if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live”—which refers to “eternal life” in God’s (Romans 8:13, Christians are personally responsible for putting to death sinful desires (cf. 1Corinthians 9:27), but “The key to victory lies in these three words: the The Spirit’s power alone ensures victory in our battle against sin; this is why he lives within us. He gives us the power to put sin to We simply, but intentionally, must continually rely upon God’s empowering presence to kill sin in our lives.

It seems clear that Paul does not believe “once in Christ and the Spirit, always in Christ and the Spirit.” If believers persist in living in the sinful ways of the flesh that characterize the unsaved, then they will become an unbeliever all over again and experience death rather than receive eternal life (8:13; cf. 6:21–23; 1:18–32; 13:12–13). As in Paul’s other letters ... Romans shares the perspective that a believer’s constant succumbing to the desires of the sinful nature and practicing vices can lead to apostasy [i.e., becoming an unbeliever] and [eternal]

Paul saw false teachers and fleshly living as serious threats to the spiritual well-being of individual believers and the believing community and issued some of the strongest warnings in the New Testament to have nothing to do with either. In the next chapter, we will look at another New Testament author who shares Paul’s same concern about these matters.

word “Now” connects what is said here to what Paul said in 3:14–16

Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

He appeared in the flesh,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

was taken up in glory.

Gordon Fee (1988: 91) says, “With verse 15 the real urgencies of the letter come into focus. The church itself is at stake. If I am it is crucial that people know how to behave as God’s people, because they are the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the The church has been entrusted with the the conduct of the false teachers has been an abandonment of the truth (cf. 6:5; 2 Tim. 2:18; 3:8; 4:4). Thus it is extremely important that Timothy not only stop the false teachers (1:3–11) but get people back in touch with the truth.”

“some will depart from the faith.” “some will fall away from the faith.” “some will desert the faith.” “some will abandon the faith.”

verb often conveys apostasy: Deut 13:10, 13; 32:15; Josh 22:18; Jer 3:14; Wis 3:10; 1 Macc 11:43; 1 5.4; Josephus, Life 158; Heb 3:12; Herm. Vis 6.2.3; BDAG, 157–58” (Oropeza 2012a: 283, fn. 89). Mounce’s 1103: make defection, fall away, Lk. 8:13; 1Tim. 4:1; Hebrews 3:12” Abbott-Smith 71; Robinson 113).

false teachers who have “seared” their “own consciences,” would parallel the false teachers in 1:19–20, who have “rejected” “a good conscience.”

2012a: 283.

Oropeza 2012a: 283.

Mounce 2000: 235.

asks, “But who are these some [people]? In this case—and surely this is the great urgency of the letter—they are not the false teachers themselves but the members of ‘God’s household’ (3:15), who are being led astray by the hypocritical liars (the false teachers) of verse 2. Note how this same concern is expressed in 2 Timothy 2:16–18; 3:13; and 4:3–4” (1988: 97, brackets are from Fee; cf. Trebilco & Rae 2006: 100–101).

(1996: 110) sees verse one as referring to “Christian apostasy.”

Tim. 4:1 describes ‘falling away from the faith’ in the last days in terms of falling into false, heretical beliefs” (Bauder, NIDNTT 1:606).

Simpson (2017: 71) writes,

[T]he false teaching is being spread by human beings, who are described in unflattering terms in 4:2. Hypocrisy and lying are involved. Both concepts speak of deliberate action. These teachers are not accidentally, as it were, teaching what is false. Hypocrisy indicates covering the reality with a mask, presenting a false appearance; they know their teaching is false but they present it as the truth. Lying presents a similar picture. The second half of the verse reinforces the picture, for it suggests that they have silenced their conscience. Their conscience would have warned them about the nature and origin of the nonsense they were teaching, but they have suppressed and deadened their conscience and it is no longer an effective alarm system.

(2017: 71) explains: “The precise nature of their teaching is summed up in a few words in 4:3. It can be described as the “forbidding of marriage and abstention of [certain] foods.” The problem “seems to be the compulsory and rigid nature of the prohibitions which the false teacher wanted to enforce. Asceticism as a voluntary practice is one thing, but to make it an absolute demand on all believers is something different and cannot be justified.... It is likely that at Ephesus a lifestyle involving these sorts of demands was being promoted as the necessary way to a higher spirituality, and though this is not actually mentioned in the text it would help to explain why Paul’s response is so strong.” Paul’s response to the false teaching is to note the obvious: “marriage and foods are all part of God’s created order, and as such come under the verdict of very good (Gen 1:31),” and ought to be received with “an attitude of thanksgiving” (4:3–4) (2012: 71–73). Let it be noted, this false teaching “is in fact contrary to what God has said, and so by definition must derive from sources opposed to God [i.e., demonically inspired]. Presumably Paul would have described any other false teaching which is opposed to the word of God in a similar way.”

2012a: 283–284.

and ‘teach’ are both in the present tense of continuous action. Timothy is to keep on doing these two things” (Earle 1978: 374).

pains with these things; be absorbed in them” “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them”

close attention” is a present-tense imperative that would be better conveyed by “Keep on paying attention to yourself” (cf. Spencer 2013: 118).

continue/persevere Romans 11:22; Colossians 1:23; and Acts 14:22

should be noted that “doing” is a present tense participle indicating ongoing action. If Timothy keeps on doing this (i.e., persevering in a godly life and in proclaiming the apostolic teaching he has received), he will save both himself and his hearers.

982: “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, save/preserve from eternal death from judgment, and from all that might lead to such death, e.g., sin, also in a positive sense bring Messianic salvation, bring to Under BDAG 982, #2 a, β: “of persons who are mediators of divine salvation: apostles Ro 11:14; 1 Cor 9:22; 1 Ti 4:16b. The believing partner in a mixed marriage 1 Cor 7:16ab ... One Christian of another ... Js 5:20. Cp. Jd 23.” So Thayer 610–611; Robinson 704; Cremer 534; Strong’s 2161.

verb “‘hearing’ carries the nuance it sometimes does, not merely of sense perception but of response and obedience to that which is heard (e.g., ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear [Mark 4:9; Rev 2–3]...” (W. Mounce 2000: 265; So L&N: 36.14).

1992: 210. Knight (1992: 211) notes that some commentators take save in the sense of to preserve or be kept safe from the doctrinal error of the false teachers “(Bengel, Gromacki, Vine, Wuest),” but most commentators understand save “soteriologically and eschatologically (Alford, Bernard, Brox Bürki, Calvin, Earle, Ellicott, Fairbairn, Gealy, Guthrie, Hendriksen, Hiebert, Huther, Kelly, Kent, Lenski, Moellering, Robertson, Scott, Simpson, van Oosterzee, and White; also J. Schneider, NIDNTT 3:215; W. Foerster, TDNT 7:995).” Knight goes on to mention:

The other occurrences of σῴζω save] in the PE (1 Tim. 1:15; 2:4, 15; Tit. 3:5; 2 Tim. 1:9; 4:18) are clearly soteriological in orientation. It is true that διδασκαλία teaching] does deliver from error and bring to truth, but that seems to be included in the ultimate goal expressed in σῴζω (cf. 2:4; so also Oosterzee). The salvation of the hearers is elsewhere depicted by Paul as the central goal of the ministry (cf. especially 1 Cor. 15:1, 2; 9:22; 2 Ti. 2:10; 4:5), and it is that hope in the living God who is the Savior of all believers that Paul has presented as the centerpiece of encouragement for Timothy in this section (1992: 211–212).

1988: 109. So Marshall 1999: 571; Trebilco & Rae 2006: 129. Knight writes:

That a human being, here Timothy, is the subject of σῴζω save] is a phenomenon found elsewhere in Paul (Rom. 11:14; 1 Cor. 9:22; 7:16a, b), in James (5:20), in Jude (23), and with Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (Mk. 8:35b par. Lk. 9:24b). Thus we see that the NT speaks of human agents in addition to the ultimate and absolute source, God himself.... Lenski summarizes well when he says that God alone saves (v. 10), yet he saves by means, “and it is thus that one who uses and applies these means can very properly be said to save both himself and others” (1992: 212).

2003: 120–121. “The clear implication is that, if Timothy does not persevere, then he will not be saved [i.e., experience final salvation]” (Claybrook 2003: 121).

Mounce 2000: 266–267.

“bear with me.”

word haplotēs can mean simplicity, sincerity, mental (Thayer 57). Contextually haplotēs is directed toward Christ and more likely refers to “single-hearted faith in Christ ... 2Corinthians 11:3” (Thayer 57); devotion to Christ 2 Cor 11:3” (BDAG 104); “‘singleminded’ devotion to Christ” (J. Thompson 1970: 150. So Picirilli 1999: 391).

manuscript tradition at 11:3 show significant variety among the words apo tēs haplotētos kai tēs ‘from devotion and purity.’ ... I take the pair of nouns as an example of Paul’s use of hendiadys, a figure of speech in which two nouns are connected by the conjunction ‘and’ to express a single idea. Hence my translation ‘pure devotion’” (Collins 2013: 214).

says “purity” is what characterizes his ministry as a “servant of God” to others (2Corinthians 6:6). Paul seeks to protect his brothers and sisters in their “purity” to Christ (11:2) from those masquerading as “servants of righteousness” (11:15).

Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles used “the nuptial [marital] figure ... with a negative significance, to depict the infidelity of Israel and the church toward God. The anti-figure of marriage is adultery and harlotry. In the writings of the prophets, adultery and harlotry figure humans breaking faith with God, turning from God’s ways by idolatry and immorality (Jer. 2:2; 3:6–9; Ezek. 16; 23; Mal. 2:10–12; cf. Matthew 12:39; 16:4; James 4:4).... In the writings of the apostles, infidelity figures the temptation of the church to stray from the truth and from Christ” (Belousek 2021: 47). This is what is happening in 2Corinthians 11: false teachers are trying to seduce the believing community (“a pure virgin” bride) away from remaining faithful to Christ (their “one husband”). See Belousek (2021: 43–48), where he provides an excellent summary on the marital figure in Scripture.

1999: 458.

Corinthians are not yet in outright apostasy, though there are dangerous possibilities in that regard (see v. 4)” (Barnett 1997: 500).

1999: 460.

1999: 460–461.

2016: 329.

Thompson 1970: 147.

1999: 462.

(1988: 164) says “the Corinthians are vulnerable to falling away from Christ through their interest in an untrue gospel (verse 4),” and it is “the pure gospel alone [that] joins us to, and keeps us in a right relationship with, Christ.”

Revelation 2:20, there is

a false prophet, symbolically called “Jezebel”.... This false prophet is teaching believers to practice sexual immorality and participate in idolatry. By following these teachings and doing such things, the believers “commit adultery” with the false prophet, betraying their fidelity to Jesus. The false prophet has refused to heed Jesus’s call to repentance, so now Jesus is bringing the false prophet to judgment—and is warning the believers that, “unless they repent of her doing” (Rev. 2:22), they will receive the same judgment (Belousek 2021: 47–48).

John presents Jesus’ warning to shun “false prophets and repent of sexual immorality in the figure of marital fidelity to Jesus,” which has eternal ramifications: “infidelity to Jesus will be judged by exclusion from Jesus”—they will be “among” the other unbelievers “‘outside’ the holy city (Rev. 22:14–15; cf. 21:8)” (Belousek 2021: 48).

Farley 2010: 134–135. “I am afraid ‘I fear,’ I may have labored over you in vain” (Galatians 4:11). Meyer (1873: 238) rightly says that in vain means Paul’s labors among them may end up saving 4:11; 1 Cor. 15:2), because” the Christians in Galatia “are in the course of falling away from the life of Christian faith” due to entertaining the teachings promoted by false teachers. Lyons (2012: 259–260) says, “Paul’s fear was for the Galatians.... They were in danger of falling from grace and being alienated from Christ (cf. 5:4). The apostle cherished no doctrine of the [unconditional] eternal security of believers. He faced the possibility that his ministry might not have enduring results (cf. 2:2; see 1 Thess. 3:5).... The Galatians’ plans to abandon Christian freedom and return to slavery caused him fear that they might forfeit their final salvation (see Gal 4:9, 11; 5:1–5, 13; see 1 Thess. 3:5).”

agents of Satan ... [they] were as capable of causing believers at Corinth to fall away from God as the Serpent who caused Adam and Eve to fall away from God in the garden. The word of God, when heeded, unites the hearers to God, but when corrupted, it cuts men and women off from God” (Barnett 1997: 527).

sees in content but smooth in delivery—as Satan’s instrument to seduce the church from her loyalty to Christ.... It is that ‘[their] minds’—the receptors of the word of God, but corruptible by deceptive words—‘may somehow be led astray’” (Barnett 1997: 502).

BDAG 1054; F&M 398–399; Barnett 1997: 502;

word phtheirō can mean “to corrupt,” “ruin,” or “destroy” (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:17; 2Corinthians 7:2), but the verb is passive in 11:3 and “probably means ‘seduced’ (cf. Josephus, 4.452; Justin, Apol 1.9.4; Dignetus 12.8)” (Oropeza 2012a: 119, fn. 37). “In the ancient papyri, it appears in marriage contracts and was sometimes used in reference to the seduction of unmarried women” (Collins 2013: 214).

Thompson 1970: 150.

Oropeza 2012a: 119.

1999: 391; Harris 2008: 520. Oropeza 2012a: 120: “...the Corinthians are ... in danger of committing apostasy ... by following false apostles.” “Paul perceived that the principal danger confronting the readers was ... a deception that could lead to apostasy. It was their flirtation with a false gospel (v. 4) and their toleration of a different Jesus and a different Spirit that constituted the main hazard” (Garlington 2016: 330).

(1988: 169) recognizes that “the Corinthians were in grave danger ... of severing their relationship with Christ” in welcoming the false gospel of these false teachers.

2012a: 119–120.

1999: 484.

1999: 486, fn. 269 is quoting here Mario M. DiCicco, Paul’s Use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in 2 Corinthians 172.

has in mind God’s eschatological wrath ... as the ‘end’ of the opponents [i.e., the false teachers]” (Garlington 2016: 345).

1999: 484–487. “The implied warning is clear enough: if the Corinthians continue being influenced by the intruders, they will be siding with Satan against Christ” (Garlington 2016: 345). Barnett (1988: 170) rightly notes that one of the activities of Satan is to seek “to sever the believer from Christ by means of false doctrine about Christ (11:3, 14).”

Ralph Martin (1986: 353, 356), who writes: “Their τέλος (Delling, TDNT 8:54–56), ‘end,’ in the sense of ‘destiny,’ or ‘fate,’ will correspond to what they have done, specifically in introducing alien teaching (11:4) and seducing the congregation (11:3, 20).... They have done Satan’s work, to Satan’s fate they will go.... They are his agents at Corinth and will share his fate (v. 15; cf. Matt 25:41, 46).” “As preachers of ‘a different gospel’ (v.4), they stood under the anathema of Galatians 1:8–9” (Harris 2008: 524).

2007: 64. Oropeza (2012a: 9–10) notes: “The Galatian congregations consist of a large number of uncircumcised Gentiles who are ‘in Christ.’ Paul calls them ‘brothers,’ a typical designation for the recipients of his letters (1:11; 3:15; 4:12, 28; 5:13; 6:1, 18). They are redeemed, belong to Christ, know God, and operate in the Spirit (3:3, 5, 13, 14, 24–29; 4:7–9; 5:1; cf. 5:18,25). They already stand in a covenant relationship with Christ, but the apostle’s repeated warnings indicate they are in peril of ‘getting out’ of this relationship.”

2020: 70.

2007: 17. So Osborne 2017: 5–6.

2012a: 15.

2018: 9. Some commentators refer to the false teachers are “Judaizers.” Mark Keown (2020:11, fn. 1) notes:

The term Judaizer is based on a Greek verb ioudaizō used in Gal 2:14. The Greek means ‘live as one bound by Mosaic ordinances or traditions, live in Judean or Jewish fashion’ (BDAG 478). PDBS Dictionary of Biblical 68 defines Judaizers as ‘[a] group of Jewish Christians who believed that all gentile Christians should “live like Jews” (Gal 2:14) by embracing Jewish customs. Although the word Judaizer does not appear in the NT, such attempts at “judaizing” conflicted with Paul’s insistence that salvation is “not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal 2:16). It is important to understand that Paul never encouraged Jewish Christians to abandon their Jewish way of life and national identity, though he was falsely accused of doing so (Acts 21:21).

are people who believe themselves to be Christians, but for Paul, they are not” (Keown 2020: 61). Thus, Paul refers to them as “false brothers” (2:4).

2018: 8. These false teachers no doubt affirmed that placing one’s faith in Jesus was “a good start,” but not good enough “to be full participants in God’s people” (Keown 2020: 63). In addition, they taught that “justification requires more than faith,” “it requires faith plus law observance ... (esp. circumcision)” (Keown 2020: 377).

2017: 261. As Thielman (2005: 268) sees it:

By turning back to the era of the Mosaic law ... the Galatians and their teachers have started a futile attempt to swim against the current of salvation history. They have denied the obvious—that God’s inclusion of Gentiles into his people by faith in Christ is the fulfillment of his promise to bless all the Gentiles through Abraham—and have instead claimed that Abraham’s inheritance can only be realized through the law, and thus through Jews and Jewish proselytes (3:18). By reintroducing the law, they have regressed in time to the period of the law’s curse and have decided to live under that curse rather than under God’s eschatologically provided remedy for it (3:10–12). They have preferred life under a child-minder to adult life (3:24), life under trustees and guardians to life as the grown son who has come into his inheritance (4:1–7), and life in an enslaved, earthly Jerusalem to the eschatological life of the heavenly Jerusalem (4:25–26). For the Galatians, such a life is no better than their life under the idolatrous practices of their former pagan religions (4:8–10). To regress to the Mosaic law is, in short, to desert God (1:6) and to be cut off from Christ (5:4).

2007: 8. “Soteriology is the branch of theology that studies salvation” from the teachings contained in the Bible (Miethe 1988: 196). Soteriology specifically examines the gracious provisions made through Christ’s death and resurrection to save people from their enslavement to sin and demonic powers.

deals with the forgiveness of sins and the reception of salvation. The verb ‘justify,’ meaning to ‘declare righteous,’ is a forensic term describing God on his judgment seat declaring a person to be in a right standing before himself” (Osborne 2017: 17).

first use of the verb dikaioō is present tense and speaks of the present status of righteousness based on their faith at the point of So, if one is joined to Jesus by faith, that person is justified! ... This is the present God-declared status of a Christian on the basis of (Keown 2020: 327–328).

second use” of “the future tense [verb and speaks “of the final decision of God on the basis of the believers’ perseverance in faith.” This is opposed to Paul’s opponents who: “After beginning with faith (and receipt of the Spirit), they are seeking to complete their justification through works of the law . . .” (Keown 2020: 328).

as this verse makes plain, is not the act of a moment only, it is the attitude of a whole It is not to say one time, ‘I believe in Christ’; it is to go on, day after day, month after month, year after year, believing with all one’s heart in Christ as God’s Son, who so loved us to give his life for us” (Hunter 1959: 25, emphasis added). David deSilva’s translation of 2:20 is helpful: “It’s not me living any longer, but Christ is living in me. What I’m now living in the flesh, I live by trusting God’s who loved me and gave himself up on my behalf” (2018: 212, emphasis added).

deSilva’s excellent translation: “But the Scripture consigned all things under sin, in order that the promise might be given on the basis of trusting Jesus Christ to those who continue to exhibit (2018: 324, emphasis added).

deSilva (2014: 73) notes that “trusting” is a present tense participle “which suggests ‘continue in trust,’ [or ‘ongoing faith,’ Keown 2020: 484, and] may be significant to Paul’s argument since ongoing reliance on Jesus and his gifts, to the exclusion of turning to other means of aligning with God, is at issue [in Galatia]” (cf. deSilva 2018: 324 and fn. 185). Peter Oakes (2018: 257) persuasively argues that faith (pistis) in Christ language in Galatians is “relational,” specifically a “relational way of life” that “refers primarily to a way of life of current trust, loyalty and/or reliability between Christ and people (and God).”

Fee (1994: 217, fn. 40) says “the law of Christ” is Paul’s “gentle reminder that life free from Torah and flesh, empowered by the Spirit, does not lead to ‘lawlessness.’ Rather it leads to patterning one’s life after the ultimate expression of the law, Christ himself, who through his death and resurrection ‘bore the burdens’ of one and all. Above all, Christ is the one ‘who gave himself for our sins’ (1:4) and ‘who loved us and gave himself for us’ (2:20). This is ‘the law of Christ’ which Spirit people are called to reproduce.”

2007: 10. Cf. Keown 2020: 582–583.

(2012a: 17) notes:

Paul’s declaration of the believers’ deliverance [v. 4] ... through Christ recalls Israel’s exodus from Egypt; instead of deliverance from Pharaoh, however, the Christ-followers are rescued from the present “evil age” (Gal 1:4; cf. Exod 3:8; Acts 7:10; 7:34). Similar to Israel before them, the Galatians are freed from slavery, adopted as God’s children, and God’s spiritual presence guides them through the new exodus wilderness journey (Gal 4:1–7; cf. Rom 8:15, 23; 9:24; Eph 1:5). The Galatians, along with all those who are in Christ, are adopted as God’s people, the “Israel of God” (6:16). The exodus story has now become the Galatian Christians’ story of deliverance, but just as the Israelites fell in the wilderness so now the Galatians are in danger of apostasy before the full realization of God’s kingdom has taken place.

2007: 65. “His plea is urgent because the gospel and their salvation are at stake” (Keown 2020: 122).

2012a: 17.

2007: 65.

2007: 65. This slide into apostasy “is ironic given that the same verb ‘desert’ was used centuries before to depict the apostasy of Jews from their covenant faith (2 Macc 4:46; 7:24; 11:24).... The Galatians’ potential apostasy is from ‘the one who called you in the grace of Christ’” (Garlington 2007: 66).

verb “desert” is in the middle voice, which “keeps the focus on the Galatians’ responsibility for their apostasy” (Das 2014: 100). F&M 261: “middle [voice], as changing one’s loyalty as a follower turn from, desert, become apostate (Ga 1:6)” (cf. LN 34.27; Thayer 406). de Boer 2011: 39 notes: “The verb ‘turn’ ... was commonly used in connection with changing allegiances, such as turning from one school of thought to another or from one religion to another (e.g., 2 Macc 7:24; 11:24; see BDAG 642; Maurer 1972: 161–62; Betz 47 n. 41). Paul thus presents the Galatians’ process of turning to that different gospel as a form of apostasy (cf. 5:4).”

1920: 18–19. “They have been tempted to the verge of apostasy; but they are not yet over the edge” (Findlay 1891: 302). Paul sees “their move in the direction of circumcision is not a mere fine-tuning of the spiritual life, but its complete overthrow; not a completing of their Christian experience (as the Judaizer suggest), but apostasy, deserting God in favor of a rival, a different gospel” (Farley 2010: 98). Lyons (2012: 60) says, “Paul compared the Galatians to traitors. They were abandoning their former allegiance for another. They were in danger of apostasy.... The verb describing the Galatians’ defection ... implies that the change underway was a reverse conversion, although they had not yet ‘become apostate’.... But Paul considered this a real possibility (see 5:4). They were in danger, not merely of failing to live out their faith, but of abandoning it entirely.”

1995: 51. So Das 2014: 102; Brunk 2015: 31.

modern sensitivities, the language of these verses would be highly offensive. However, Paul is not to be judged by the standards of the political correctness which so preoccupies our generation, especially when ‘the truth of the gospel’ (2:5, 14) was on the line” (Garlington 2007: 70). Lyons (2012: 59) notes:

The “entire ‘body’ of the letter is bracketed” by the “conditional curse” that introduces it (in 1:8–9; Betz 1979, 50) and the “conditional blessing” that concludes it (in Gal 6:16; Betz 1979, 321). Paul framed the central argument of the letter on this premise: The Galatians would be cursed or blessed depending on their future choices. Would they remain faithful to the gospel Paul preached or pursue the perversion some people (v 7) were urging them to accept?

Findlay 1891: 43–44.

Keown 2020: 140, 142, 145–146. Cremer (548) says, “the word denotes not punishment intended as discipline, but a being given or devotion to divine

Keener (2019: 65) has the colloquial force them” or “To hell with them.”

follow the false gospel of the opponents is to be accursed with the opponents (1:8–9; cf. 3:10)” (Oropeza 2012a: 19). “[This curse] contemplates the exclusion of the offenders from the Covenant of grace, their loss of final salvation” (Findlay 1891: 44).

2017: 6. “The Galatians ... will become apostates [i.e. unbelievers] if they fully embrace the opponents’ teachings” (Oropeza 2012a: 16–17. So Harrington 2021: 511; cf. Farley 2010: 98–99). “The Galatians are in the process of abandoning the gospel for a teaching that will lead them to forfeit their salvation...” (Vanhoye & Williams 2019: 39).

Osborne 2017: 28.

(2019: 440) writes:

Paul often uses this verb for “stand” (στήκω, especially in the imperative. Most of these texts (most obviously Rom. 14:4; 1 Thess. 3:8; cf. 1 Cor. 15:1–2;...) urge perseverance, a matter also important in the context of Gal. 5:1 (see 5:4). Such “standing” contrasts with “falling” (Rom. 14:4; cf. 1 Cor. 10:12) or “stumbling” (cf. Rom. 14:13), an expression that Jewish people already used as a metaphor for apostasy. We “stand,” rather than commit apostasy, by faith (Rom. 11:20) as well as in faith (1 Cor. 16:13; 2Corinthians 1:24). That is, we persevere by continuing as believers in Jesus; the Galatians risked apostasy by forfeiting their dependence on Jesus for dependence on something else.

A Christian “is sustained in God’s people by faith and faith alone.” Being circumcised in order to belong to God’s people as the false teachers insist is not needed and contradicts the Gospel message Paul proclaimed. “This truth has implication for salvation—one gets in and stays in by faith.” (Keown 2020: 685).

(2019: 443) translation better captures Paul’s intention here: “Watch out! I myself, Paul, am warning you...”

passive ‘if you let yourselves be circumcised’ is a third-class condition in the Greek text ... suggesting that the circumcision of the Galatians has in fact not yet occurred but is being seriously considered by them” through the influence of the false teachers (Rapa 2008: 621).

“cut off from Christ,” “severed from Christ,” “completely separated from Christ,” Thayer 336: “of persons ... to be severed from, separated from, discharged from, loosed any one; to terminate all intercourse with one ... Gal. 5:4.” Robinson 387: cease being under or connected with any Gal. 5:4 ... ye have ceased (withdrawn, apostatized) from Bloomfield 209: “Gal. 5:4 ... ‘ye have separated yourselves from Christ,’ have apostatized from him, ceased to be Christians.”

115: “Gal. 5:4 ... fall away namely, by apostasy.” “The term is used figuratively in Gal. 5:4 and 2 Peter 3:17 to convey the sense ‘to lose’ one’s salvation or ‘to fall away’ from grace” (Mounce’s 235; cf. Bauder, NIDNTT 1:610–611).

(2020: 691–692) notes:

We have a neat chiasm here:

A you have separated from Christ

B those [of] you [seeking] to be justified by the law,

A you have fallen from grace.

In the chiasm, ‘you have’ is repeated, ‘separated’ parallels ‘fallen,’ and Christ parallels ‘grace.’ ... The verb katargeō is prominently placed to further highlight Paul’s statement as if such an emphasis is required.... Here, it has the sense of being cut off or severed from Christ.... It is thus a strong warning... This is one of the many verses in Paul that are fatal to the ‘once saved always saved’ theology. One cannot be joined to Christ unless one has faith. Hence, this is a warning to those joined to Christ by faith that if they yield to the Judaizers, this soteriological [salvation] connection is severed... The relationship is annulled.

(2020: 697–698) notes: “Here, ‘the hope of righteousness’ ... speaks of the final declaration of righteousness before God at the [final] judgment... [I]t is the final state of righteousness for which believers yearn.... The Galatians who are being seduced by the Judaizers are in danger of never hearing this eschatological declaration of righteousness... Thus, they must persevere in faith. If so, they will be declared righteous and live eternally with God, Christ, and his people.”

Christ” = “in living union with Christ” (Adeney 1910: 322. Cf. C. Williams 1953: 78; Alford 1897: 54).

has been said that verses 5–6 are a masterful summary of Paul’s whole letter. I agree. Here we find (1) faith, (2) the Spirit of God, (3) justification, (4) future hope, (5) love, and (6) the polemics against circumcision. This is Galatians” (McKnight 1995: 251).

will be “of ‘no [soteriological] value’ to them. Thus his warning is an attempt to stave off an action that would bind the Galatians to the false teachers and their message” (Rapa 2008: 621, brackets are from Rapa). “Submission to circumcision indicated a cessation of faith in Christ.... It was the expression of an act of repudiation of God’s grace manifested in Christ. The person who was circumcised severed himself from Christ and His saving power (Galatians 5:2).... Such an action leads to loss of salvation, since for Paul salvation is ... by faith in Christ” (Marshall 1969: 110, 241, fn. 38; cf. Keown 2020: 686). Findlay (1891: 308) says, “Their Christian standing is destroyed. The joyous experiences of their conversion, their share in Abraham’s blessing, their Divine sonship witnessed to by the Holy Spirit—all this is nullified, cancelled at a stroke, if they are circumcised. The detachment of their faith ‘from Christ’ is involved in the process of attaching it to Jewish ordinances and brings spiritual destruction upon them.” In short, “they will cease to be Christians” (Findlay 1891: 309).

from Christ is, in one word, “Paul’s . . . warning against apostasy is clear” in Galatians 5:2, 4 (McKnight 2022: 211; Duncan 1934: 156; Harrington 2021: 511).

“warns that believers can ‘fall from grace’ (Ga 5:4) ... by apostatizing, accepting a rival version of the gospel” (Eubank 2017: 46). “Therefore, in being circumcised for the purpose of being justified by the law ye have been guilty of a complete apostasy” (McGarvey & Pendleton 1916: 280; cf. Taylor 2004: 104).

Oakes (2015: 161), who says, “[‘severed from Christ’ refers to] separation from Christ. This is the opposite process from the participation in Christ, the union with Christ that is central to salvation in Galatians. Similarly, falling ‘away from grace’ (5:4) reverses the process of salvation.” “[Cut off from Christ] means that they are not longer in Christ, that is, in union and fellowship with Him” (Arichea & Nida 1979: 122. So Kretzmann 1922: 251; Duncan 1934: 156). “Paul could hardly have made any clearer that a person who chooses to submit to the Law who seeks final justification by being ‘in the Law’ (or we can translate ‘by means of the Law’), has in effect committed apostasy, has fallen from grace, has even severed themselves from relationship with Christ” (Witherington 1998: 369. So Osborne 2017: 163–164; Vanhoye & Williams 2019: 175). “The Scriptures soberly recognize that believers may stubbornly choose to apostatize” (Das 2014: 526). Boles (1993: 128) rightly states: “It is ‘by faith’ [v. 6] that the peril of apostasy is avoided.” The faith here “is not simply initial faith, but [eager] waiting or persevering faith” (Taylor 2004: 163).

2012a: 29–31. Sam Williams (1997: 138) rightly notes that Paul’s teaching in Galatians 5:4 rejects the idea that being justified is “an irreversible transaction” (or once justified, always justified). Being justified is relational, and a believer can relationally sever themselves from Christ by seeking justification through circumcision and undo “God’s [original] justifying work” (S. Williams 1997: 138, 160). To become circumcised is to convert to the false gospel proclaimed by the false teachers and to necessarily fall under the curse (“condemned to hell,” issued in 1:8–9 (Similar Betz 1989: 261).

2019: 454. So Hansen 1994: 156. Keener (2019: 455–456) rightly states: “Paul certainly did not teach the popular doctrine today of ‘once saved, always saved.’”

Hansen 1994: 156.

2017: 30. “Christian history is littered with people who corrupt the gospel.... Today we face massive challenges from false gospels such as the prosperity gospel that violates Christian economics and liberal gospels that corrupt sexual ethics. We have to be ever vigilant” (Keown 2020: 137).

when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless basic forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? You are observing religious days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain” (Galatians 4:8–11,

Paul’s fear is warranted since “their eschatological futures are at stake” with the false teachers trying to “draw them away from the gospel of Christ” (Keown 2020: 572, 579). The false teachers “want to distort the gospel of Christ” (1:7); “they want them “to be circumcised” (6:13, and, it is implied, they want them to follow the Jewish calendar [see Keown 2020: 573ff. for details]. Unfortunately, some are already observing the Jewish calendar (4:10). But do the Galatians really want to become enslaved to doing that which cannot make them right with God nor keep them right with God? Paul has clearly articulated that the way to being right with God requires trust, and it is through a continuing trust that a person remains in a right (saving) relationship with Him (ch. 2–3). These Jewish calendric observances “may have value, but they do not bring righteous,” i.e., a right relational standing with God (Keown 2020: 577). Keown (2020: 580–583) argues that Paul

is desperately afraid his converts may abandon Christ.... [T]hat he has labored [‘in vain’] over the Galatians with no [saving] result. This clause [‘in vain’] is the language of [or, the end result of the Galatians] falling away from the faith. There is a Christian school of thought that one cannot fall away from faith and that if one does, one’s faith was not genuine or saving. This verse would appear to support the idea that it can. The Galatians clearly began with hearing with faith, with faith (3:2). They received the Spirit by that faith, indicating it was genuine (3:3, 4). However, they have become seduced by the Judaizers and turning from faith to justification by works of the law, through the flesh.... [O]ne is hard pressed to find [persuasive] exegetical paths from the seemingly clear conclusion; Paul held that a person could have an initial faith in Jesus, receive the Spirit, and yet, all this being in vain if that one should turn from the grace and faith found in the gospel. This is why he is writing with such passion. His concern is for their eternal state.

1994: 201. “Interpreters have long struggled to explain how this portion of the letter relates to the central argument, but recent scholarship has increasingly recognized that this passage sets out the way of life [enabled through the power of the Spirit] that is the alternative to the path set out by Paul’s opponents” (Eubank 2017: 42–43).

1994: 202.

deSilva (2014: 114–115) says, “[Flesh] here carries a negative ethical nuance. It does not signify some physical aspect of human existence (as in 3:2–5; 4:21–31), but rather the sum total of the impulses, urges, and desires that lead human beings away from virtue toward self-promotion and self-gratification, often at the expense of the interests and well-being of others.”

“the one practicing such things.” Cf. “those who continue to do such things,”

regard to these vices Paul pronounces a stern warning, and as we read it we feel how concerned he is to vindicate his gospel from even the suspicion of antinomianism” (Duncan 1934: 172).

2015: 176, emphasis added.

Witherington 2009: 246; Oropeza 2012a: 25; Harrington 2021: 513. It is common for a list of vices or vicedoers to end with a warning (Romans 1:32a; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:6; Revelation 21:8; cf. Revelation 22:15). Moo (2013: 362–363) says this inheritance language may also be directed to the false teachers as Richard Hays suggests. They may have been teaching that to inherit God’s Kingdom required one to be circumcised. But for Paul, “one is excluded from the inheritance by these flesh-driven, community-splitting behaviors—precisely the outcomes produced, in his view, by ... [those promoting] the circumcision faction.”

2007: 216. So Oropeza 2012a: 32.

verb “practice” is a present-tense verb and suggests “habitual behavior” (Fung 1988: 261; deSilva 2014: 124); or “an ongoing, unrepentant lifestyle” (de Boer 2011: 362; cf. Das 2014: 576).

Boer (2011: 361) writes:

The notion of “inheriting” the kingdom of God as found in Paul and in Matt 25:34 appears to be a variation of the more common notion of “entering into the kingdom of God” (Matt 5:20; 7:21; 18:3; 19:23–24; Mark 9:47; 10:15, 23–25; Luke 18:17, 25; John 3:5). The notion of “entering” or “inheriting” the kingdom of God represents the eschatological adaptation of entering and inheriting the promised land in the OT: “And now, Israel, hear the ordinances and judgments, all that I teach you this day to do, that you may live, and be multiplied, and that you may go in and inherit the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you” (Deut 4:1 LXX). This text shows that “inheriting” the kingdom of God most probably entails “entering” it. Akin to the promised land, the kingdom of God is conceptualized as a territory or sphere in which God rules as King. In 1 Cor 15:50, Paul regards “the kingdom of God” as the alternative for “corruption” in Gal 6:8, he so regards “eternal life.” The kingdom of God is thus the realm of “eternal life” (cf. “inheriting eternal life” in Matt 19:29; Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25; 18:18). The works of the Flesh have no place there, and those who “practice” them will not inherit it.

349. So BDAG 547; Eichler, NIDNTT 2:295–303; Friedrich, EDNT 2:298–299; Cremer 360–361; Abbott-Smith 448–449; Robinson 401. For fuller discussion on the Old Testament background of inherit and how it was transformed in the New Testament see Eichler, NIDNTT 295–303; Friedrich, EDNT 2:298–299. For an excellent study on this topic, see James Hester’s Paul’s Concept of

plainly says that members of the body of Christ can disqualify themselves [from inheriting the future Kingdom in the New Creation] if they persist in engaging in immoral behavior” (Hester 1968: 86; see also 92–93; 99–101). Claybrook (2003: 164) rightly states that believers who “consistently acts wickedly” will “become apostate” (i.e., become an unbeliever) and “will not go to heaven (Gal. 5:21).” Albert Nash (1871: 213) says a Christian who practices the works of the flesh has “totally apostatized from a state of grace” (i.e., has become an and will have no “place in the kingdom of grace and glory.” Harrington (2021: 512–513) correctly notes that one certain path to apostasy is when Christians are sinful lifestyles inconsistent with repentant and Galatians 5:19–21 is one such warning directed to Christians about deliberately persisting in unrepentant sin, which “can lead to the death of faith and, consequently, to apostasy.”

1959: 39. So Witherington 2007: 203. “Forsaking sin [through the power of the Spirit] is essential to final salvation” (deSilva 2020: 781).

Fee 2007: 216 and Hester 1968: 100. Kwon argues persuasively that Paul’s “discussion of the Abrahamic inheritance in Galatians chapters 3 and 4 and his talk of ‘inheriting the kingdom of God’ belong together. In both places, the ‘inheritance’ refers to the future inheritance of eschatological salvation” (2004: 150, see 146ff.). Compare with the excellent discussion by Hester (1968: 47–104). Hester not only argues from Galatians 3–4, but from Romans 4, 8, and 1 Corinthians 15 that only those who are, by faith, united with God’s Son/Heir (and the Spirit He gives), will inherit the Kingdom of God or the world to come (i.e., the new heaven and new earth, Revelation 21–22).

NIDNTT 2:303. “The Kingdom of God with its new heaven and new earth is the Inheritance of the righteous” (Hester 1968: 43, see also 40–43). This “inheritance is the kingdom of God” as stated by “Jesus himself (Mt. 25:34).... This inheritance which is the kingdom of God is described in eschatological colours as land (Mt. 5:5), the holy city (Heb 11:10, 16), the eternal Jerusalem (Rev 21:2), the new heaven and the new earth (2 Pet 3:13)” (Pesch, “Inheritance,” EBT 397).

present participle” for nikaō is “lit. ‘the one who is conquering,’” which “suggests the timeless demand for victory on the part of the believer” (Smalley 2005: 64).

Greek word nikaō means ‘to be the victor,’ ‘to be victorious,’ ‘to overcome.’ The present participle implies continuous victory, ‘keeps on overcoming’ or ‘continues to be victorious’” (Stefanovic 2009: 112).

2010: 166. Thayer 426 correctly defines nikaō as referring to “Christians” who “hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and their temptations and persecutions.” “A man is constituted conqueror (present participle, of continuous action) by his continuing attitude and behavior, rather than by the circ*mstances of his physical death—though the coming crisis will indeed demand faithfulness unto death (2:10)” (Sweet 1979: 83).

2000: 489. Notice that it is literally the one overcoming (present participle, ongoing action) who will inherit the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:7), and the one practicing present participle, ongoing action) the works of the flesh who will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21b; cf. Revelation 21:8). Later in Revelation 21:27, John says nothing unclean will ever enter into the holy city, New Jerusalem, nor will the one practicing present participle, ongoing action) abomination and lying/falsehood (see also 22:14–15).

adherents try to argue that “inheriting” the Kingdom is not the same as “entering” the Kingdom of God. They say that all Christians will enter the Kingdom, but not all of them will “inherit” the Kingdom. Such an understanding cannot be supported from the Scriptures. See chapter 24, where this is clearly demonstrated when we deal with passages that communicate who will inherit/enter the Kingdom of God and who will be shut out.

1973: 92.

Michl, EBT 1:370–371, rightly says “exclusion from the kingdom of God (Lk 13:28; 1 Cor 6:9f; Gal 5:19–21; Eph 5:5;...)” is the “ultimate punishment” of “hell.”

2007: 218.

2007: 219.

2007: 229.

we are following the CSB, but we have replaced “sows” with a more literal translation “sowing,” Thornhill.

verb is a second-person plural present imperative, which can be taken in one of two ways: ‘You Galatians are to stop deceiving yourselves as you have been doing,’ or ‘You Galatians are never to make a habit of deceiving yourselves’” (de Boer 2011: 387).

2013: 384.

2013: 386.

Lyons 2012: 376. We follow Lyons’s structure here with small changes. We follow deSilva’s translation on the verb “sowing” in v. 8—“the one who keeps on (2014b: 22).

(2013: 386) notes that the Greek word phthora can contextually have the meaning “corruption” or “destruction” with some commentators favoring corruption “in light of the word picture Paul is using, with referring to rotten or decaying crops.” However, since eternal life parallels this signifies that Paul “is considering the spiritual realities to which the figure points.” Thus, it is far more likely that phthora “refers to ... eternal death,” the opposite of eternal life.

430–431: “[life, is used of life in the blessed period of final consummation,” or “the blessing of real life after the (Thayer 274; cf. Link, 2:482). Robinson 320: “In the gospel sense, eternal life, i.e. the bliss and glory in the kingdom of God, which awaits the true disciples of Christ after the resurrection, and of which Christians have the hope and foretaste here on earth.”

have been justified by faith and cleansed from guilt, they have received the Spirit, but they must persevere in holy living and not rest on their oars. Paul knew the necessity of this in his own life (cf. 1 Cor. 9:26f.)” (Bruce 1982: 265).

may grow weary. Reaping fruit is not automatic. A real danger exists that believers in Christ may apostatize, falling away from faith, and miss out on eternal life. The cosmic power of the flesh remains steadfast in its assaults. For some Christians the doctrinal slogan is ‘once saved, always saved.’ Paul would not agree” (Das 2014: 622).

views good works as the “fruit of genuinely saving faith (5:5–6; 6:7–10)” (deSilva 2020: 777).

is here talking about habitual action, the ongoing trajectory of the Christian’s life, not about sporadic deviations from the Spirit-driven life (in which case the instructions of 6:1 would apply)” (deSilva 2018: 493–494).

is a warning comparable to Paul’s warning about exclusion from the kingdom of God (5:21), and ‘sowing to the flesh’ is no doubt meant to recall the ongoing practice of those ‘flesh-driven works’ (5:19–21) that lead to such exclusion” (deSilva 2018: 493). So Bruce 1982: 265; Esler 1998: 233. Barclay in DPL2 395 says, “Paul can speak sternly of the responsibilities of believers and warns them against apostasy and its dire consequences (Gal 6:7–8)....” For a Christian to persist in sowing to one’s flesh is a clear “rejection” of “faith working through love (Gal. 5:6)” that is expected of Christians indwelt by the Spirit and “is tantamount to apostasy” (Eubank 2020: 13).

2013: 184.

2012a: 31 and Betz 1979: 308. Others consistently note in their commentary or lexicon how corruption/destruction is the opposite of eternal life and means “undoubtedly much more than mere decay” but to “eternal destruction” (Harder, TDNT 9:104; and Meyer 1873: 332–333; Keown 2020: 957). Note: The verse reference in TDNT was not correctly stated (“Gl. 1:8”), and clearly should have been Galatians 6:8. “Fig. of spiritual death, the ruin consequent on sin, everlasting Gal. 6:8 (Bloomfield 460); “final destruction” (Schreiner 2010: 369); in the last days” (BDAG 1054); “the future as a final recompense destruction, death, (F&M 399); loss of salvation, eternal (Thayer 652–653); “of spiritual death, condemnation, corruption, (Robinson 761); and “eternal damnation” (Kretzmann 1922: 257). Johann Michl, EBT (1:370–371), rightly says the “ultimate punishment” of “hell” is characterized as “destruction (Mt 7:13; Gal 6:8; Phil 3:19; Heb 10:39;...).” Matera (1992: 216) writes,

Corresponding to sowing to one’s own flesh is the harvest of corruption In 1 Cor 15:42, 50, in a discussion of the mortal and the resurrection bodies, Paul contrasts phthora (“corruption”) and aphtharisia (“incorruption”). While the first is the state of the mortal body, the later is the condition of the resurrection body. The harvest of the corruption, then, is eternal death, the opposite of resurrection life. Corresponding to sowing to the Spirit is the harvest of eternal life see Rm 2:7; 5:21; 6:22–23) which is attained through resurrection from the dead.

destruction being contrasted with eternal this solidifies that Paul is not referring “to degrees of reward that believers may look forward to in the next life (contra, e.g., G. Vos 1972: 269–79), but to that life itself: [final] salvation [with God]” (Moo 2013: 386–387).

1992: 210; Oropeza 2012a: 31. “Paul is open to the possibility that members of his congregations will ultimately fail to attain eternal life, to inherit the Kingdom of God, because they abandon the Spirit and revert to the realms of the flesh” (Esler 1998: 233). Witherington (1998: 406–407) says:

The warning here must be taken quite seriously. Paul is telling his Galatian Christian converts that if they behave in these sorts of ways they will find themselves [as unbelievers] on the outside looking in, without inheritance when the Dominion [i.e., Kingdom] comes in fullness to earth. This comports with what he has already said earlier in 5:4—if they allow themselves to be circumcised they will have cut themselves off from Christ (and so the inheritance that comes in [union with] Christ).

2013: 55. When Christians do sin “they get up, dust themselves off with prayers of contrition and repentance, and they journey on following the way of the Spirit.... Sometimes, another comes along and takes them by the hand and helps them along the way (6:1–2)” (Keown 2020: 956).

life’ is the equivalent here of ‘kingdom of God’ (5:21)” (Fitzmyer 1990: 789). “The eternal life is the resurrection life of Christ, mediated to believers by ‘the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead’ (Rom. 8:11)” (Bruce 1982: 265).

Oropeza 2012a: 31.

wrote to those in Rome, “loved by God and called to be his holy people” (Romans 1:7, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world” (Romans 1:8,

ISV has “in union with the Messiah Jesus” (8:1, cf. Williams) and “in union with the Messiah Jesus, our Lord” (8:39).

Greek construction for you must “stresses the certainty of it” (Osborne 2004: 203). Cf. “you will die.”

deeds of the body “most likely ... refers to the physical body as the arena in which these misdeeds occur” (Osborne 2004: 204).

1988: 1:447–448.

(2013: 132–133) provides a similar list.

443: “of spiritual death.” Mounce’s 160–161: “spiritual death” and “eternal separation from God.” Strong’s 2086: “exclusion from the presence and favor of God in consequence of sin and disobedience.... eternal condemnation.” So Robinson 329.

could be implied from the context that those “in the flesh” are presently in a state of condemnation, have not been set free from the law of sin and death, do not belong to Christ, and, if they remain in this state, they will not be raised to life through the Spirit in comparison to those “in Christ.”

Christ” are “united to Christ by a lively faith in him” (Benson 1856: 67) and share a “close and intimate union” with Him (Barnes 1946: 197).

320: “In the gospel sense, eternal life, i.e., the bliss and glory in the kingdom of God, which awaits the true disciples of Christ, after the resurrection, and of which Christians have the hope and foretaste here on earth” Thayer 273; Mounce’s 405; Strong’s 2084; Abbott-Smith 196).

they [i.e., believers] are united to Christ, what was true of him is also true of them. Since he was raised, they will certainly be raised.... The certainty of the future resurrection is signified by the words ... he will grant life to your mortal bodies” (Schreiner 1998: 416). So Osborne 2004: 201–202; Cottrell 1996: 473; Dunn 1988: 1:445; Moo 1996: 493; Reasoner 2002: 319. BDAG 431: “to cause to live, make alive, give life esp. in a transcendent sense.” is used in the NT in an exclusively soteriological sense.... is understood primarily as the raising of the dead” (Schottroff, EDNT 2:110).

Schreiner (1998: 420), “believers are warned of the danger of submitting to the flesh.”

1988: 1:448. “We owe it to God to live a holy life” since God saved us from our enslaving sin and given us the Spirit, who is holy, to enable holy living (Cottrell 1996: 474).

present-tense verb suggests: “if they continue to live ... after the flesh ... they are bound to die” (Reasoner 2005: 323, emphasis added).

2030: “Figuratively, to die forever, to come under condemnation of eternal death, i.e., exclusion from the Messiah’s kingdom, and subjection to eternal punishment for sin (Jn 6:50; 8:21, 24; Ro 7:10; 8:13)” Bloomfield 37). Thayer 61: “of eternal death, as it is called, i.e., to be subject to eternal misery, and that, too, already beginning on earth: Ro. 8:13; Jn. 6:50; 11:26.” Robinson 80: “Of eternal death, comp. ‘the second death’ Rev. 20:14. So John 11:26 ... comp. v. 25. John 6:50 comp. v. 51. Rom. 7:10 comp. v. 9. Rom. 8:13.” Mounce’s 181: “death is represented as not receiving eternal life. ‘For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will (Rom. 8:13).” BDAG 111: “of losing the ultimate, eternal life Ro 8:13; Rv 3:2.” Abbott-Smith 50: “...of spiritual death, Jo 6:50, Ro 8:13, al.”

present tense to indicates a sustained effort” (Dunn 1988: 1:449; cf. Cranfield 1985: 185). “‘Put to death the misdeeds of the body’ refers to our continual (present tense) activity as Christians whereby, through the enablement provided by the Spirit, we strike down in death those sinful practices of the body that are contrary to God’s will” (Alan Johnson 2000: 148).

270: “emphatically, and in the Messianic sense, to enjoy real i. e. to have true life and worthy of the name,—active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God (or ζωή αἰώνιος; [life eternal];...): Luke 10:28; John 5:25; John 11:25; Romans 1:17; Romans 8:13;...” BDAG 425: “to live in a transcendence sense ... in the glory of the life to come ... Lk 10:28; J[ohn] 11:25; 14:19; Ro 8:13b; Hb 12:9.”

who does not die by faith will die eternally” (Barrett 1958: 162). “Eternal death” (Robertson, WP 4:374; Osborne 2004: 203; Kretzmann 1922: 41; Lenski 1936: 516; Meyer 1874: 61; Picirilli 1975: 146); “death is his final state, without life beyond” (Dunn 1988: 1:448); “they will die without hope of life with God” (Cranfield 1985: 185); “death in the fullest theological sense, the death that is the wages of sin in 6:23 and is liked with condemnation in 5:15–19” (Schreiner 1998: 420). Philippi 1878: 410 “spiritual death.”

1985: 185. Others understand = “Eternal life” (Robertson, WP 4:374; Kretzmann 1922: 41; Meyer 1874: 61); “eschatological life” (Dunn 1988: 1:449; Schreiner 1998: 421); “resurrection at the last day” (Barrett 1958: 162); “the life of the risen Christ and his Spirit, a life that is given to Christians and guaranteed to lead to eternal glory, their destiny” (Fitzmyer 1993: 492–493).

1996: 474.

1996: 475.

verse is perhaps the clearest, most concise statement of the way a person once in grace can lose his salvation” (Carlson 1989: 127).

1996: 475.

are following Cottrell (1996: 475) here. “What is meant is death in its fullest theological sense: eternal separation from God as the penalty for sin. We must not eviscerate [i.e., deprive of meaning or weaken] this warning; Paul clearly affirms that his readers will be damned if they continue to follow the dictates of the flesh” (Moo 1996: 494). Ironically, since Moo believes the Holy Spirit will irresistibly prevent believers from following the dictates of the flesh, he does the very thing (eviscerates this warning) which he urges his readers not to do.

1996: 477.

1996: 476.

2012a: 164. “[Rom. 8:13 supplies a proof text] for the possibility of apostasy” (Philippi 1878: 410). “If the believer allows flesh’s impulses to get the upper hand ... he faces the awful prospect of apostasy [becoming an unbeliever] and eternal death (cf., 2 Peter 2:19–22)” (Picirilli 1975: 146). “Paul wants his readers to understand the seriousness of giving in to the dictates of the flesh. It is absolutely imperative to refuse to surrender to the flesh; one’s eternal destiny is at stake” (Osborne 2004: 203).

TEN

Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 4)

Paul was not alone in warning believers about the dangers of apostasy through false teachers and fleshly living; the apostle Peter also had to confront these realities in his second epistle. Peter issues three warnings, one at the beginning and end of the letter, and one in the middle.

Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to the ones having received an equally-precious faith with us by-means-of the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge “full knowledge” Williams] of God and Jesus our Lord. Because-of His divine power having granted us all things pertaining-to life and godliness through the knowledge of the One having called us by His own glory and virtue, through which qualities He has granted us the precious and greatest things-promised in order that through these you might become sharers of the divine nature, having escaped-from the corruption in the world by evil desire; and indeed for this very reason you having applied all diligence “make every effort,” your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue, knowledge and in your knowledge self-control; and in your self-control, endurance; and in your endurance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly-love; and in your brotherly-love, love. For these qualities being-present in you and increasing make you neither useless nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the one in whom these qualities are not present is blind, being shortsighted, having forgotten the purification of his former sins. Therefore brothers, be more diligent “make every effort”] to be your calling and election firm. For while doing these things you will by no means ever stumble or “fall,” For in this manner the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you. (2Peter 1:1–11,

Knowledge and is important for Peter throughout his letter. Peter’s use of epignōsis refers to “the decisive knowledge of God which is implied in conversion to the Christian faith” (1:2, 3, 8; Bauckham says epignōsis “always refers to that fundamental saving knowledge on which the whole of the Christian life is That Peter uses another

description of Christian conversion as coming to know the way of righteousness (2:21) reminds us that it is also a knowledge with strong practical and ethical implications, as will also become clear in The reason for our author’s emphasis on the fundamental Christian conversion-knowledge and its ethical implications is the danger of apostasy through ethical libertinism (2:20–21) which his readers

Other commentators agree that epignōsis refers to conversional or saving knowledge in chapter but not everyone holds that it means this in chapter 2, like Bauckham and others. We will look at chapter 2 shortly, but first we need to look at the ethical implications of this saving knowledge in chapter 1.

Peter’s message seems pretty straightforward when you note the same Greek word epichorēgeō (“supply” v.5, “supplied” v.11, that frames his teaching in verses 5–11. God’s power has given believers the ability to live a godly life, and if believers (via God’s power) are making every effort to supply from their ... virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and God will graciously supply to them an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Developing these virtues leads to fruitfulness in our saving knowledge/relationship with Christ and one’s calling and election in Christ “while the failure to develop them means that we are blind and have forgotten the cleansing from past sins that we have For if we “keep on doing” (v.10, these virtues, we “will never fall (v.10).

The word ptaiō “can mean to sin, as in James 2:10; 3:2. But if this were all Peter had in mind, the sentence would be so obvious as to be meaningless: If you live ethically (do these things), you will not sin It is difficult to defend contextually and theologically “that Peter thought Christians can actually live without sin. If so, he would contradict the Lord’s Prayer, which enjoins Christians to ask for forgiveness often (Matthew The context suggests ptaiō carries a more serious meaning—“fall” or “fall away” “Believers who confirm their call and election by living in a godly manner,” by abounding in the virtues stated in verses 5–7, “will never fall away from God,” “that is, they will never forsake God, abandon him, and commit apostasy (cf. Romans 11:11; Jude

This meaning is further supported by how verse 10 is connected to verse 11 with the word “For.” “For in this (i.e., by supplying from faith these ethical fruits), “the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you” (v.11, Peter “pictures Christians on a journey begun with the calling and election of This calling and election have an intended goal—entrance into the eternal “If they fall on the way, they will never reach the of “final with in the new heaven and new earth (2Peter 3:13; Revelation “The contrast between verse 10 and 11 is quite stark—committing apostasy and finding eternal ruin versus living [by faith] a godly life and finding eternal

Peter is not advocating some form of “salvation by works” here in calling believers to engage in ongoing moral effort. First, he says God’s power enables believers to live a godly life (v.3). Second, such godly living flows from the believer’s faith in Christ (v.5), which bears moral fruit that culminates in love (vv. “What Peter does believe is that without moral living one will not enter the kingdom which is precisely what Paul also believed (1Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians

Peter’s stress on moral living should not surprise us since “His readers were in danger of moral apostasy, under the influence of teachers who evidently held that immorality incurred no danger of As we will see in a moment, the false teachers have already committed moral apostasy (2:20–22) and are seeking to lure young believers into sin and apostasy (2:14, 18). Dedication to a virtuous life equips believers to avoid the spiritual blindness (1:9) and apostasy (1:10) that has come upon the false Peter’s readers are faced with a clear choice between following the way of heretics that leads to final destruction (2:1, 3; 3:16), or the way of faith and holy love that leads to final salvation (1:11; 3:10–14). “By implication, if they follow the way of the heretics, they will share their final

In chapter 2,Peter gives a description of the heretics both before and after their

They once...

•were bought by the Master [the Lord Jesus Christ] (v.1)

•escaped the defilements of the world through the saving knowledge of Christ (v.20)

•savingly knew and followed the way of righteousness/holy commandment delivered to them (v.21)

•were washed from the filth of sin (v.22)

Unfortunately, they have...

•forsaken the right way (“straight path,” and gone astray, following the way of Balaam who loved the wages of unrighteousness

•become entangled again in the defilements of the world and overcome (v.20)

•turned back from the holy commandment delivered to them (v.21)

•returned to rolling in the filth of sin (v.22)

•become worse than their original unsaved and enslaved state (v.20)

Now they are...

•secretly bringing into the church of (v.1)

•denying the Master [the Lord Jesus], who bought them (v.1)

•engaging in sensuality and wrongdoing (vv. 2, 13)

•maligning the way of truth through their sinful living (v.2)

•greedily exploiting believers with false words/message

•indulging their fleshly desires (v.10)

•despising authority (v.10)

•boldly and willfully insulting angels (v.10, cf. 12)

•counting it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight (v.13)

•blots and blemishes (v.13)

•reveling in their deceptions while they feast with believers (v.13)

•full of adultery (v.14)

•never ceasing from sin (v.14)

•enticing/seducing unstable believers to return to sinful living (vv. 14, 18)

•trained in greed (v.14)

•waterless springs and mists driven by a storm (v.17)

•promising freedom to believers

•slaves of corruption (v.19)

•enslaved to the defilements of the world (v.20)

Peter says, “They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done” (2Peter 2:13, and the “blackest darkness” (2Peter 2:17, is reserved for these heretics. Because of their false teaching and living, their end will be “eternal 2Peter 2:1, 3; 3:7, 16; 2:12b) and “divine condemnation”

Few disagree with the final destiny of these false teachers, but many disagree that they were Christians at one time. Once-saved-always-saved teachers argue that these people were in the Christian community and professed to be Christ-followers but never actually entered a saving relationship with God through Christ. Thus, these false teachers were always unbelievers and simply remained unbelievers while professing to be believers or Christ-followers.

We find it highly doubtful that Peter’s original readers would have come away with this understanding after having read/listened to Peter’s First, Peter says the false teachers are “denying the Master who bought them” (v.1). The readers would have been shocked to hear that these heretics are now repudiating the very Master (Christ), who “bought This word is used as a metaphor in the New Testament “of those whom Christ has redeemed by his blood from the bondage of sin and death 6:20; 7:23; 2Peter 2:1; Revelation 14:3, There is no question that Peter viewed these heretics as having “once been true but now “apostate former believers who have disowned their Their ongoing of their former Master is manifested in their spreading “heresies of destruction” and in their pervasive sinful lifestyle (2:2ff.), which was in direct contradiction to their Master’s life and Having apostatized from following their Master, these heretics are now on a quest to lead others to follow in their shameful ways (2:14, “To embrace such false teaching is to commit apostasy” (Osborne 2011: 311). Thus, one can understand the urgency with which Peter writes this letter so as to prevent his readers from following these apostates and sharing in their same

Secondly, the additional language Peter uses in chapter 2 to describe the former spiritual condition of the false teachers, and the nearly identical language used in chapter 1 to describe the present spiritual condition of his readers affirms that these false teachers were once “true followers of Jesus In the following passages, we will follow the translation, but consistently supply “saving knowledge” when epignōsis is used by Peter.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the saving knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the saving knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises noun), so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust (2Peter 1:2–4,

For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they [i.e., the false teachers] entice by fleshly desires by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in promising verb) them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption for by what a man is overcome, by this he is For after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the saving knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. (2Peter 2:18–20,

Notice that Peter does not say they “appeared” to have escaped from their enslavement to worldly defilements, but that they did, in fact, escape them through the same saving knowledge of Christ that his readers escaped from worldly corruptions. Peter would not have said they are again entangled in the defilements of the world and reenslaved if they had never been unentangled and freed from their enslavement to sin through this saving knowledge. To argue that this epignōsis in verse 20 was simply “head and not saving knowledge is to read an idea in the text that Peter never intended for his Peter uses epignōsis “consciously as a way of representing the saving knowledge of Christ one gains at Peter goes on to write:

For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. (2Peter 2:21,

The verb “to have known,” the way of righteousness is related to the noun It “refers to saving knowledge, to the experience of coming to know this ‘way.’ The tense of the verb (Greek perfect) indicates a continuing state that is a result of a prior act. They entered into this knowledge at conversion and continue to possess that knowledge The way of righteousness “is probably understood as the ethical precepts of Christ as taught by the apostles (cf. 2Peter 3:2; 1John 3:23; 5:2; 2John 6; John 13:34; Galatians 6:2; 1Corinthians 7:19; 1Timothy This way of righteousness is equivalent to “the way of truth” (2:2, “the straight way” (2:15, and only by remaining in this way will believers experience “a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (3:13b, cf. Revelation 21:1–8). This way of righteousness is parallel to “the holy commandment” passed on to The false teachers had at one time savingly known and followed the way of righteousness/holy commandment that was passed on to them after conversion, but “turned away” from it. “Peter implies that they have returned to their former way of life and thus committed the sin of which is an act of

Peter illustrates what has happened to these former Christians with a twofold proverbial saying:

It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit [Prov. 26:11], and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.” (2Peter 2:22, emphasis added)

Both proverbs communicate the same point:

Like a dog that comes back to lick up the spoiled vomit that sickened him in the first place, like a sow that gets a bath and goes back to the mud from which she had been cleansed, these apostates return to the enslaving, polluting wickedness from which they had been Those who attempt to mitigate Peter’s teaching by suggesting that the real nature of the sow or the dog had not been changed, and that this implies that these apostate false teachers were never regenerated [or “saved”], are pressing the illustration beyond what they are intended to convey. Indeed, the proverbs must be interpreted by the clearer words that precede them and not the other way The previous paragraph [i.e., verses 20–21] expresses precisely what the proverbs are intended to convey.... Peter is describing a real apostasy from genuine

Peter concludes his letter with a final warning about the false teacher’s deceptive ways and how to avoid sharing in their same destiny.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault. Think of our Lord’s patience as facilitating just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. He speaks about this subject in all his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort [“twist,” leading to their own destruction, as they do the rest of the Scriptures. And so, dear friends, since you already know these continuously be on your guard not to be carried away “led astray,” by the deception of people. Otherwise, you may fall from your secure position Instead, continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah. Glory belongs to him both now and on that eternal day! Amen. (2Peter 3:14–18,

Peter’s readers have been “established in the truth” (2Peter 1:12), but must remain in their “secure position” and beware of the “unstable” false teachers who

“twist” Paul’s teaching, wrenching and distorting it in such a way that the true is tuned into the false ( BDAG 948; MM 593).... They twist his teaching ... as even the other Scriptures. During Peter’s era, the term “Scriptures” referred specifically to the divinely inspired writings of the Old Testament (2Peter 1:20–21; Luke 24:27, 32, 45; John 5:39; Romans 1:2; 1Corinthians 15:3–4; Galatians 3:8, 22; 1Timothy 5:18; 2Timothy 3:16; 1Peter 2:6). But early in the life of the church, the concept of “Scripture” was expanded to include the teachings of Jesus (1Timothy 5:18; cf. Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7). ... The problem of the false teachers is not that they have poorly understood portions of divine revelation but that they use their twisted interpretation to justify their immorality (e.g., 2:19; Twisted teaching and twisted practice go hand in hand. Heretical teaching has led to moral

This twisting of the Scriptures comes with a price—they do so “to their own destruction We encountered apōleia earlier in the letter where the false teachers bring in “heresies of destruction,” which destroy others and bring “destruction” upon themselves (2:1, 3). Here, as there, apōleia refers to a future and final destruction that consists of “the final loss of salvation and

Peter has forewarned his readers in about the destructive ways of the heretics and appropriately commands them to “continuously be on your guard.” They are to maintain constant vigilance against falling for the deceptive ways of the lawless, who have broken free from the restraints of God’s moral law to gratify their lusts by twisting Scripture. Now they are seeking to “lead astray” others with them in their deceptive and lawless ways and lead Peter’s readers “to fall from their secure This is a “severe “The addressees are informed in advance about the nature of the false teachers and the danger they pose, and should therefore be on guard against the temptation to apostasy from the true faith and the ethical way of life, because this would inevitably entail the loss of salvation and

Christians are secure in their relationship with Christ, but not unconditionally secure. They have a responsibility to continually be on guard against the deceptive ways of false teachers and to “continue to grow” in their saving relationship with their Lord and Savior, Jesus

The apostle recognizes that the best antidote against apostasy is a Christian life that is growing.... Such knowledge, which marked the believers’ conversion, also continues and increases throughout the life of the Christian. Along with grace, such knowledge is the strongest antidote against the destructive lures of the false

Peter ends his letter like he began—with a call to spiritual growth in the saving grace and knowledge of our Savior so as to avoid committing apostasy. Jesus has bought us and saved us from our enslavement to sin so we could live holy lives that reflect the beauty of His holy love to an unholy world. To go back to living like the lawless or unbeliever is to become one of them and share in their same destiny.

Peter and Paul warn believers about the eternal consequences of following false teachers and engaging in fleshly living. Previously we observed Jesus warning His disciples about the dangers of apostasy via sinful In Mark 9, Jesus does the same and gives clear indications as to who does and does not enter the Kingdom of God, which echo Peter and Paul’s warnings and provide a fitting conclusion to this chapter.

And whoever causes one of these little ones believing in Me to fall would be better for him if instead a donkey’s millstone were lying around his neck, and he had been thrown into the sea. And if your hand should be causing you to fall cut it off. It is better that you enter into life crippled than go into Gehenna having two hands—into the inextinguishable And if your foot should be causing you to fall cut it off. It is better that you enter into life lame than be thrown into Gehenna having two feet. And if your eye should be causing you to fall throw it out. It is better that you enter into the kingdom of God one-eyed than be thrown into Gehenna having two eyes where their worm does not come-to-an-end, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:42–48, emphasis

Jesus says can potentially cause “little those trusting in fall away For those responsible in “destroying the faith of a fellow believer or causing a believer to fall away from “it would be better for them if a millstone were tied around their necks and they be cast into the sea (Mark 9:42; cf. Revelation Those who cause others to apostatize “will themselves suffer a fate worse than being tied to a heavy block and thrown into the Sea of Galilee to drown. A fate worse than drowning turns out to be suffering damnation in the fires of Gehenna (cf. Mark 9:43–50). We are dealing here with an act so vile as to send the culprits to They do not merely cause others to stumble by sinning but by committing

Jesus moves from warning anyone who is involved with causing believers to fall away, to warning His disciples about the potential they have in causing themselves to commit If what you are doing with your hand, foot, or eyes is leading you to fall away then “sever the member from” your “body rather than be thrown into This amputation of body parts “could hardly be more shocking.... Nothing less than eternal life and death are at While Jesus did not intend His words to be taken literally, He did intend for them to be taken Jesus uses hyperbole to convey the utmost seriousness of dealing swiftly and decisively with kind of sin or temptation that may cause a Christ-follower to fall

This falling away or apostasy (i.e., becoming an unbeliever) is the end result of a Christ-follower allowing sin to run unchecked by repentance. Jesus warns His disciples “that there is no sin worth going to hell Better to quickly sever any ties with sin than to allow oneself to become reenslaved to sin and find oneself cast into hell as an unbeliever on judgment

Since Jesus believed “eternal destinies are at in dealing with sin—entering into (eternal) life/the kingdom of or being thrown into the unquenchable fire of hell—we must “be careful not to mute the imagery and muffle Jesus’ “Jesus ... deliberately chose harsh, scandalous imagery to alert disciples that their lives tremble in the balance.... [And] a lackadaisical disregard for sin in one’s own life imperils one’s

Peter and Paul’s warnings to believers about the dangers of sinful living reflect their Master’s teaching. Believers who abandon the way of faith that expresses itself in holy love to pursue a life of sinful indulgence can become unbelievers all over again and be thrown into hell along with other unbelievers. We would be wise to heed the warnings so as not to suffer the eternal consequences.

De Judasbrief, der zweite 153, notes that ‘make’ is in an emphatic position and that the imperative ‘give more effort to the process’ is present [tense], indicating ongoing activity. Thus this passage underlines the active involvement of the Christian in confirming his or her salvation” (Davids 2006: 188, fn. 53).

teaching here is like Paul’s in Galatians 5:6–6:10. Both call believers to live a life of faith that expresses itself in moral virtues that culminate in love. Both emphasize divine empowerment to live by faith and bear fruit that positively impacts the Christian community. Both see entering the Kingdom of God/Christ as conditional upon faith manifesting itself in holy love. Both of their teachings were designed to combat the negative influence false teachers were having in the Christian community. Both were facing the threat of Christians committing apostasy and writing to prevent it from taking place.

TDNT 1:707; as quoted by Bauckham 1983: 170, and Picirilli 1992: 233. R. Wilson (2010: 295) calls epignōsis “conversional” knowledge. Bultmann says this conversional knowledge for epignōsis “is plain” in 1 Timothy 2:4; Titus 1:1; 2 Timothy 2:25; 3:7; Hebrews 10:26; and 2 Peter 1:3, 8; 2:20 1:707; So Picirilli 1975: 92). “Stachan ... observes: in this epistle corresponds to pistis [faith] in the Pauline sense (Spitta, p. 522)’” (Picirilli 1975: 93). Frey (2018: 256) agrees with Stachan.

1983: 170, emphasis added. So Mbuvi 2015: 80–81. Mounce’s 386: “In some of the later NT writings, epignōsis appears to function in a more technical way as Christian knowledge or saving knowledge” (examples given: 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Timothy 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1; 2 Peter 1:2, 8; 2:20). So Bromiley 1985: 121. Bauckham (1983: 170) says epignōsis is “In contrast to γνῶσις which is used in 2 Peter for knowledge which can be acquired and developed in the course of the Christian life (1:5, 6; 3:18).” However, Schreiner (2003: 288) doubts “that we should separate epignōsis from gnōsis (1:5, 6; 3:18). The two terms are closely related in Hos. 4:6. Knowledge of God and Christ begins, of course, at conversion, but it is difficult to sustain the view that Peter confided epignōsis to conversion and gnōsis to postconversion growth. It is common for Greek terms to overlap in meaning, and the prepositional prefix epi often adds nothing distinctive to a word. In this verse [2 Peter 1:2] knowledge refers both to the knowledge of God they had at conversion and for its increase in their lives. It follows, therefore, that we have an inclusio since the book ends with an exhortation to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.”

says, “it is assumed that Christian knowledge carries with it a corresponding manner of life” 1:707). Davids (2006: 165–166) states that knowledge in Peter “implies an ethical lifestyle” “that results in committed living.” So Frey 2018: 256.

1983: 170. So Picirilli 1975: 93.

G. Green 2008: 176; Davids 2006: 165; Moo 1996: 42; Schreiner 2003: 288; Osborne 2011: 287; Watson 1998: 334.

representing faith as the root of all the virtues, the writer of 2 Peter is illustrating what he said in v 3: that Christ ‘has bestowed on us everything necessary for a godly life, through the knowledge of’ himself. That knowledge of Christ is received by faith” (Bauckham 1983: 185). Bauckham (1983: 187–188) notes how two scholars “argue that in stressing that the virtues must be added to faith, these verses are aimed against the exaggerated Paulinism of the false teachers (cf. 3:16), who made Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith an excuse for ethical libertinism.” Bauckham (1983: 188) says, “The false teachers may have used Paul in this way (but . . .); more certainly, they based their libertinism on a denial of future judgment. Second Peter therefore stresses here the need for virtuous living if the Christian’s eschatological [i.e., future and final] goal is to be attained.”

(1983: 187) sees as last in this list, “as the crowning virtue, [which] encompasses all the others. The thought is similar to that of Col 3:14, which probably means that love coordinates and unites all the other virtues.”

root [from appears sixteen times in the NT” and “means ‘firm,’ ‘steadfast,’ ‘steady,’ ‘reliable,’ ‘certain’” [quoting from TDNT 1:600] (Davids 2006: 188).

1996: 725.

or practicing is a present-tense verb that “denotes habitual action: ‘as you keep on doing’” (Giese 2012: 44–45). So Kuske 2015: 293.

1996: 725. So Bauckham 1983: 191.

2003: 305.

2003: 305. So Osborne 2011: 297; Picirilli 1992: 244; Kuske 2015: 293; Farley 2008: 118.

‘way,’ of course, is the pathway of virtue, the keeping of the qualities in vv. 5–7, which were mentioned again in v. 10” (Schreiner 2003: 306).

1996: 725.

Picirilli 1992: 243.

1996: 725.

Green 2008: 203; Frey 2018: 334; Witherington 2009: 784; Picirilli 1992: 245.

(1996: 49) says most commentators are probably correct in affirming “the ‘stumbling’ here is of a final nature, denoting a fall that prevents one from getting to heaven” Kuske 2015: 293). Bauckham (1983: 191) writes: “The metaphor must ... be given the same sense as in Jude 24: it refers to the disaster of not reaching final salvation (so Bigg, James, Kelly, Grundmann, Senior).” So Powers 2010: 187; Witherington 2007: 313. “‘Stumble (and fall) on the path to God’s kingdom and thus fail to arrive’” (Davids 2006: 189). “The person who exercises Christian virtue will never come to the kind of eternal ruin that the heretics and their disciples face” (G. Green 2008: 202). Geise (2012: 60) says, “stumbling involves falling out of grace, departing from the family of Christ, and being lost eternally.” Lenski (1966: 277) states “stumble so as to fall and lose salvation.” So Frey 2018: 279; Watson 1998: 337; BDAG 894; Thayer 556.

commentators (Bauckham 1983: 192; Geise 2012: 61; Davids 2006: 190) rightly connect “entrance into the eternal kingdom” with its equivalent (“new heaven and a new earth”) found in 2 Peter 3:13.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort as in 1:10] to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Peter 3:10–14,

2011: 297. “Peter assumes the possibility of their apostasy” with the consequent “forfeiture of eternal life. But the apostle insists that such apostasy ... does not have to happen to any Christian. And it will never happen if we live each day by an abiding faith in Christ ... a faith that is demonstrated by growth in the Christian graces” (Tolle 1965: 78).

is the root from which all virtues and good works proceed as the rich fruits of spirituality” (Kretzmann 1922: 545). “Trusting God is the root from which all the other virtues spring” (Schreiner 2003: 299).

1996: 725. This passage affirms “that the ethical fruits of Christian faith are objectively necessary for the attainment of final salvation” (Bauckham 1983: 190). So Frey 2018: 282; Witherington 2009: 783–784. Thus, according to Peter, “A person cannot sit around ... after conversion ... and assume ‘once saved, always saved’ regardless of one’s postconversion conduct” (Witherington 2009: 783).

1983: 190. “The problem Peter faces is apostasy. But he is determined that this will not be his readers’ end (3:17) and assures them that it will not be their destiny if they continue to engage in the kind of moral behavior marked out by the gospel” (G. Green 2008: 202).

G. Green 2008: 202.

Green 2008: 202.

(1999: 207) says, “Second Peter 2 is devoted to a portrait of those fueling the apostasy” which entails “leaving the Christian way of life and faith.” It also serves as “a warning to beware of those who lead others into apostasy.”

(2018: 350) notes that this “straight path” was “in the OT and early Judaism” “a common image for life in obedience to God’s commandments, while—as is figuratively self-evident—leaving this path ... denotes religious and moral aberration, and thus sin and apostasy. According to this depiction, then, the false teachers were once followers of Christ, but in the author’s view they abandoned this path and took another, which is denoted here as the ‘path of Balaam,’ the paradigmatic ‘false prophet.’” G. Green (2008: 284) says, “The heretics’ wandering is not due to ... ‘getting lost’ but is rather willful apostasy from God.” Charles (1999: 238) also says the “language [of v. 15] points to apostasy.” So Tolle 1979: 72.

Bauckham 1983: 240; G. Green 2008: 240.

in their greed they will exploit you with false words” (2:3a, emphasis added). “This personal statement is meant to warn the readers of this epistle that they must be on guard. Otherwise, the deceivers who will appear in their midst will also mislead them” (Kuske 2015: 326).

(1983: 275–276) provides five views on the kind of freedom the false teachers promised, with only two finding support from 2 Peter in their favor: (1) freedom from moral law or constraints (favored by Bigg, Kelly, Hiebert, M. Green, Moo, G. Green, Harrington); (2) freedom from final judgment at the return of Christ (favored by Bauckham). Others say both are likely interconnected here (Osborne, Davids, Schreiner, Harvey & Towner) (Osborne 2011: 326).

simply said in a colorful way that the teachers will reap what they sowed. Those who live unrighteously will be injured by God at the last judgment” (Schreiner 2003: 351).

90. G. Green (2008: 240) is representative of the view held by commentators that destruction in 2 Peter 2:1b, 3; 3:7, 16, “refers to final and ultimate destruction of those who oppose God and his purposes (Matt 7:13; Rom 9:22; Phil 1:28; 3:19; Heb 10:39; 2 Peter 3:7; Rev 17:8, 11; BDAG 127; A. Oepke, TDNT 1:396–397; H. C. Hahn NIDNTT 1:462–66). It is, therefore, the opposite of salvation (Phil 1:28; Heb 10:39) and is the result of the execution of God’s wrath (Rom 9:22).” Cremer 453: “In the N.T. of the state of death wherein exclusion from salvation is a realized fact, wherein man, instead of becoming what he might have been, is lost and ruined.” Strong’s 2033: “the second death, perdition, i.e., exclusion from the Messiah’s kingdom.” Thayer 71: destruction which consists in the loss of eternal life, eternal misery, the lot of those excluded from the kingdom of God.” Mounce’s 178: “the destruction that one experiences as a result of divine wrath.” Abbott-Smith 56–57: “the loss of eternal life, the antithesis of F&M 72: “the eternal punishment of the wicked destruction (2P 3:7).” The reference works generally cite the following passages that fit this definition of Matthew 7:13; John 17:12; Acts 8:20; Romans 9:22; Philippians 1:28; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 6:9; Hebrews 10:39; 2 Peter 2:1, 3; 3:7, 16; Revelation 17:8, 11.

1054: “to inflict punishment, destroy in the sense ‘punish with eternal destruction’ 1 Cor 3:17b.... Pass. 2 Pt 2:12; Jd 10.” G. Green 2008: 276 says phtheirō refers to “‘eternal destruction’ at the last judgment” Davids 2006: 238; Schreiner 2003: 350).

EDNT 2:318; cf. Thayer 360; BDAG 567. Mounce’s 372–373: “used for the final eternal judgment of God (Hebrews 6:2) that will come on all creatures (Acts 24:25) ... and resulting in the damnation of those who have rejected the faith (1 Tim. 5:12), oppose God (2 Pet. 2:3; Jude4), and persecute his people (Rev. 18:20).”

letter was most likely read aloud in one setting, as were the other New Testament letters.

G. Green 2008: 241. Picirilli (1992: 263) notes that “who bought them” “is in an emphatic position (up front in the Greek order). Peter can hardly believe that one would reject another who bought them!”

2012. So Osborne 2011: 311; Mounce’s 92; Robinson 9; Bloomfield 4; cf. F&M 33. BDAG 14: “of believers, for whom Christ has paid the price with his blood.” G. Green 2008: 241, is] a metaphor of Christian salvation.” M. Green notes: “The word agorazō is used of the redemption of Israel out of Egypt (cf. 2 Sa. 7:23)” (1987: 106).

2007: 349. Cf. Tolle 1979: 65.

2006: 397. So Bauckham 1983: 240. Deny “is used of those who by cherishing and disseminating pernicious opinions and immorality are adjudged to have apostatized from God and Christ: 1 Jn 2:22 (cf. 4:2; 2 Jn 1:7–11); Jude 1:4; 2 Pet 2:1” (Thayer 74). Davids (2006: 221) says “these people did belong to Christ and had been purchased by him and thus owed him obedience. Although they did belong to Christ, these teachers now deny him.” To put it another way: The heretics were once believers who had been set free from their enslavement to sin, but now have become unbelievers by getting themselves reenslaved to sin (2:18–22).

[present tense] verb is in on-going action, indicating an entrenched rejection of Christ for themselves (implied by the middle voice)” (Picirilli 1992: 263; cf. Kuske 2015: 322).

Bauckham 1983: 240; G. Green 2008: 240. G. Green (2008: 239–240) says these heretics were bringing in heresies (false teaching) that “denied the coming of the Lord and future judgment, and this theological perspective was joined with a libertine morality (2:14, 18–19; 3:3–9), as well as a rupture with the apostolic and prophetic heritage (1:16–21).” These heresies “‘of destruction’ does not simply mean that the heresies are ‘destructive’ but also that their end is this final doom (objective genitive, not genitive of quality; BDF §163). Wrong belief leads not only to wrong conduct ... but also to eternal separation from God” (G. Green, 2008: 240). “The implication is that these teachings are destructive in that they lead those who follow them to destruction, meaning in colloquial terms that they ‘send them to hell’” (Davids 206: 220).

Davids 2006: 221; Bauckham 1983: 241. Charles (2006: 397) says “their ‘shameful ways’ and entrenched immorality constitutes the root of their apostasy.”

G. Green 2008: 241.

2006: 248. So Osborne 2011: 329; cf. Bauckham 1983: 276–277. “There can be little doubt that the false teachers had once been orthodox Christians” (M. Green 1987: 129). clear implication is that the defectors were once as much believing Christians as are the present recipients of the (Oropeza 2012b: 144).

the false teachers come, Peter warns that they will lure those who are still weak in faith back into sin. These Christians ... had begun to put lives that were mired in sin behind them. Now they would be seduced by these teachers and go right back to the filth from which they had so recently been cleansed” (Kuske 2015: 359).

the subtlety of the present participles in this verse. They keep on chattering about liberty when all the time they themselves have been (and still are) in the prison-house of lust” (M. Green 1987: 129). The false teachers “promise the new converts freedom in a lustful life, but they themselves were slaves of the very moral corruption they were enticing others to embrace” (Tolle 1979: 74). How deceitful it is to tell Christians “‘You can believe in Jesus and be free to live an immoral life’” (Kuske 2015: 368).

word if is used here ... to mark a conditional statement that is true” (Arichea & Hatton 1993: 136; So Osborne 2011: 329), thus “describing a real situation or event that has actually occurred” (Osborne 2011: 329). Therefore, “Peter is not questioning or doubting the initial faith of the false teachers” who at one time escaped worldly defilements through the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus (Arichea & Hatton 1993: 136).

(2015: 361) notes that “they escaped” with “The preposition used as a prefix makes a perfective verb, that is, it stresses not only that people escaped but that they made a complete, total escape. As Christians, they turned their back completely on the sinful actions of their former way of life.”

19–20 reveal that these former believers, now unbelieving false teachers, have “lost ... the battle against sin” (Frey 2018: 358). The phrase “the last state has become worse for them than the first” refers “to the eschatological consequences, the judgment that certainly awaits them. After apostasy a person’s condition is burdened with greater culpability, which ‘differs from the [situation] before the turn to the faith. The latter is subject to the promise and hope of salvation, the former exists in the hopeless prospect of damnation.’ There is no more salvation for apostates” (Frey 2018: 360). Kretzmann (1922: 552) writes:

It is for this reason that the apostle speaks such solemn words of warning. For if a person has had the sound, saving knowledge of Jesus the Savior, if he has chosen Jesus as his Lord, and then deliberately turns back to his former lusts, permits himself to be governed by the sinful desires which he knows to be wrong, then, indeed, his spiritual state after such defection is worse than it was before his conversion, Matt. 12:45.

1992: 205.

New Testament authors do not share this modern idea of making a distinction between “head knowledge” and “heart knowledge.” For a helpful critique, see Rick Nanez, Full Gospel, Fractured Minds? Chapter One: “The Heart and the Head: What the Bible Teaches about the Mind.”

2002: 230.

1992: 288. If we combine having escaped worldly defilements through the saving knowledge of Christ and having come to savingly know the way of righteousness, “It would be hard to find a better description of what it means to become a Christian” (Picirilli 1992: 230–231).

2012b: 146. “The way of righteousness is the moral life demanded of those who belong to God” (Schreiner 2003: 362).

Schreiner 2003: 362; Bauckham 1983: 278.

(2012b: 145) says involves a returning to one’s former [pre-converted] state or pattern of beliefs” (cf. BDAG 1041).

Green 2008: 305. So M. Green 1987: 131; Keating 2011: 169. This is “ethical apostasy” (Davids 2006: 251). Thayer 645: “those who after embracing Christianity apostatize, 2 Pet. 2:21.” Second Peter 2:15ff. is “startling proof of the danger of apostasy” (J. Wallace 1855: 108, see 104–108).

DLNTD 73; cf. G. Green 2008: 305. “Being a rebellious apostate is worse than being an ignorant unbeliever” (Davids 2014: 223). Based on this passage, “Our author does not believe in eternal security” (Davids 2014: 240).

proverbs further suggest that the opponents have formerly been washed and clean (2:22). The effect is to jolt the audience into seeing the sobering nature of apostasy: a willful departure from revealed truth” (Charles 1999: 240).

2002: 232, emphasis added; cf. Frey 2018: 363–365. “If all we had of the New Testament was 2 Peter, then there would be no question about the possibility of true believers abandoning the faith. The author of 2 Peter seems to leave no doubt about the initial conversion of the false-teachers (v. 20—they came to the saving who have now, according to his estimation, left the faith and are in danger of eternal damnation” (Mbuvi 2015: 133). When we consider what Peter has said thus far in chapters 1 and 2, he definitely wanted his readers to come away thinking:

This is a sobering message that Peter has communicated thus far. These false teachers were once unbelievers like we were—entangled in the sins of the world and enslaved to them. Like us, they got washed clean from the filth of sin and escaped from their entanglement and bondage to sin through the saving knowledge of our Lord, Savior, and Master Jesus Christ. But tragically, they went back to rolling in the filth of this world and became again entangled in sin and re-enslaved to it. They have not only returned to their former unsaved condition, but to a worse and more evil condition. They never stop sinning and are actively seeking to entice us to return to our former unsaved condition. They are confident and co*cky sounding with what they proclaim as the truth. They use fleshly lusts and sensual passions as the bait to lure us back into living like we did before we came to savingly embrace Christ and His way of righteousness. They promise us freedom, but it is an empty promise since they are not free themselves but slaves to sin. Peter is warning us that if we take their bait, we will share their fate. This is no time to become complacent. We must take seriously Peter’s call to make every effort to supply from our faith the ethical fruit he mentioned that culminated in love. The false teachers have left the way of faithfulness and righteous living. We must rely upon God’s power to enable us to live a godly life so that we can avoid falling away from Christ and be graciously supplied by God an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Savior King. What has happened to them could happen to us if we do not heed these warnings and follow the way of faith and holy love.

2 Peter 3:15 the readers are exhorted to take God’s forbearance, the chief reason for the delay in the parousia, as motive to be concerned with their final salvation, which is guaranteed only if they do not give up their efforts for sanctification” (J. Schneider, NIDNTT 3:215).

present-tense verb “twist” “indicates ongoing, habitual misrepresentation of Scripture” (Giese 2012: 199).

“since you have been forewarned.”

present-tense imperative verb phulassō indicates an “ongoing vigilance: guard’” and “is also middle voice: ‘guard (Giese 2012: 200; cf. Kuske 2015: 411).

cause someone else in addition to change from belief in what is true to belief in what is false—‘to cause to go astray together, to deceive in addition, to lead astray with.’ ... 2 Pe 3.17” (L&N 31.76).

“error.” BDAG 822: “wandering from the path of truth, error, delusion, deceit, deception to which one is subject.”

114: “one who breaks through the restraints of law and gratifies his lusts: 2 Pet. 2:7; 3:17.”

present-tense imperative verb auxanō “warrants the translation ‘continually grow’” (Giese 2012: 200). “‘Grow’ is on-going action (Greek, present imperative) indicating the need for a habit of life that is aimed at spiritual development” (Picirilli 1992: 317). So Kuske 2015: 414.

Frey 2018: 426.

Green 2008: 340–341.

Green 2008: 241.

advance warning for the readers comes both from the Old Testament, the teaching of the apostles (3:2), and what Peter had written in this letter” (Schreiner 2003: 399–400).

word synapagō was used of Barnabas’s defection in Galatians 2:13 and “suggests that if they keep too close company with such people they will be led away from Christ” (M. Green 1987: 162). Kuske (2015: 361) says the verb synapagō “means ‘to drag away together with others,’ and the passive voice indicates that this action would be done to Peter’s readers” by the false teachers.

2017: 307. So Oropeza 2012b: 150, 152.

2018: 430, fn. 915 says the word fall is likely used here because “and other composites are conventionally used for apostasy and ethical decline (cf. Rom 11:11, 22; 1 Cor 10:12; Gal 5:4; Heb 4:11; Rev 2:5; 1 59:4; 2 2.6; 5.7).” “The term is used figuratively in Gal. 5:4 and 2 Peter 3:17 to convey the sense ‘to lose’ one’s salvation or ‘to fall away’ from grace” (Mounce’s 235). Bloomfield (115) has away namely, by apostasy” for ekpiptō in Galatians 5:4 and 2 Peter 3:17. Osborne (2011: 350) understands this “falling from” “their secure place in Christ’s community is language of apostasy.”

Thomas Schreiner (2003: 400) rightly states that the word ekpiptō “refers to apostasy (cf. Rom 11:11, 22; 14:4; 1 Cor 10:12; Heb 4:11; Rev 2:5).... Peter has clarified in the entire letter that those who fall away, like the teachers, are destined for eternal destruction. Believers maintain their secure position ... by heeding warnings, not by ignoring them.” However, Schreiner holds that God makes it impossible for believers to commit apostasy. Thus, this warning, about false teachers potentially leading astray believers from their saving relationship with Christ, is not a real danger, only hypothetical at best. Yet, we are convinced that no one reading this letter, from beginning to end, would arrive at such a conclusion, but just the opposite.

2018: 431.

2018: 430–431. “The believers [Peter is addressing] ... are still susceptible to the errors of the false teachers, and like these teachers, they are vulnerable to committing apostasy at the present time and so be destroyed at the eschaton” (Oropeza 2012b: 151). Mikolaski says one of “the dangers of apostasy” is “being carried away by the error of lawless men (2 Peter 3:17)” (“Apostasy,” in NIDCC 57). Picirilli (2002: 229) also sees “the danger of apostasy” in 2 Peter 3:17.

is no doubt thinking about what he taught in greater detail in 1:5–7” (Picirilli 1992: 317).

Green 2008: 343. So Picirilli 1992: 318.

5:27–30; 18:6–9; cf. Matthew 24:42–51; Luke 12:35–46.

9:44, 46 both read in some manuscripts: “where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’” “The textual confusion in vv. 44 and 46 is apparently owing to a later scribe having inserted v. 48, which is a quotation from Isa 66:24, after vv. 43 and 45 in order to achieve three parallel strophes. The most reliable Greek manuscripts of Mark, however, retain the Isaiah quotation only at v. 48 (so the (Edwards 2002: 293).

9:42–48 is the parallel account to Matthew 18:6–9 that we interpreted in chapter 4.

Mark nor Jesus specifies whether the person envisioned as causing this is a believer or an unbeliever. They simply emphasize that ‘whoever’ ... causes a believer to stumble and lose his/her faith is in danger of being cast into hell” (Stein 2008: 447, fn. 9). However, C. Marshall (1989: 155) says the context makes it clear: “The recipients of this ominous warning are the Twelve [disciples] (cf. [ch. 9] v.5).” It is they who “are solemnly warned against ‘scandalising’” fellow believers (Ibid, 159). “This passage is a warning to Christians not to cause others to ... fall in their faith” (Keown 2021: 171). Stein (2008: 447) correctly notes how Jesus’ teaching in Mark 9:42 is similar to Paul’s teaching in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 concerning Christians causing other believers to fall away 1 Cor. 8:13).

(2011: 42) notes:

Various identities have been given to the “little ones” who believe in Jesus, including “children;” those who are “weak in faith;” “defenseless disciples;” the “lowborn;” and “people with the least social status and power.” We may add to this list another option: Zech 13:7, which Jesus cites in Mark 14:27, mentions the sheep or shepherd boys as the “little ones.” With this meaning in mind, Jesus may be referring to his followers in the imagery of sheep who follow his lead as the shepherd. Contextually, the term points back to the earlier pericope in which Jesus sets a child before the disciples and says, “Whoever receives such a child in my name receives me” (9:33–37). The “little ones” in 9:42 would seem to include little children but not exclusively so given that he addresses disciples in verses 41 and 43–48.... Mark 9:42 indicates that those who are vulnerable to falling away are individuals who “believe,” that is, those trust in Christ, bear his name, and belong to him. The situation in Mark’s Rome possibly involved family heads of households who apostatized and in their fear of being persecuted, they discouraged and destroyed the faith of their children by refusing to let them gather with the Christians.

Oropeza 2011: 41. Causing a believer to fall away from faith “could come in a myriad of ways ... [i.e.,] mistreating a person, which causes him or her to sin; or our sinful tendencies influencing a person to sin” (Keown 2021: 171).

2002: 293. “The verb here means ... to destroy someone’s faith, to cause to fall away from God” (Cranfield 1959: 313). “Jesus pronounces an ominous warning against influencing a believing child ... to commit apostasy (v. 42)” (Dowd 1995: 994).

2011: 41.

Picirilli 2003: 263.

2011: 41–42. “This [‘scandalising’] means more than causing them to sin; it means causing them to abandon their faith, and thus their adherence to Jesus, and so lose their salvation” (C. Marshall 1989: 159).

(1995: 994) rightly states that 9:43–48 refers to “the topic of apostasy in general.”

2011: 42. “The parts of the body mentioned here are really symbols for various types of activity, for example, the hand that grasps for things it should not, the foot that goes where it ought not, or the eye that desires what it ought not” (Hurtado 2011: 156).

2002: 383.

prohibited self-mutilation (Deut. 14:1; 1 Kings 18:28; Zech. 13:6), and Jesus did not intend for followers to take this advice literally...” (Garland 1996: 369). Unfortunately, “some Christians have taken Jesus’ words literally and have mutilated themselves in obedience (such as Origen, who castrated himself)” (Garland 1996: 373). “The image [of cutting off body part] is also militaristic. In the ancient world, warfare involved attacking with swords and cutting people up. Here, we declare war on our sins. The reason is that it is better to enter life mutilated, missing a hand, foot, or eye, than to end up in the unquenchable fire of Gehenna” (Keown 2021: 172).

2011: 44. So Stein 2008: 448. Jesus leaves unspecified what would cause the believer to commit apostasy. France (2002: 382–383) says that Mark leaves it up to “the reader individually ... to determine what aspect of one’s own behavior, tastes, or interests is a potential cause of spiritual downfall, and to take action accordingly.”

Readers/listeners of Mark’s gospel would have been aware of Jesus’ previous teaching that occurred just two chapters earlier where He specified to His disciples there were sins that defile a person. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21–23). Some of these very sins find their way on other vice/vicedoers lists in the New Testament where Christians are warned not to be living like the unbeliever lest they wind up becoming one of them and sharing in their same destiny—not inheriting/entering the Kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–8; Revelation 21:8; 22:15; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Colossians 3:5–6).

2008: 449.

(1996: 369–370) notes: “Maiming sometimes was substituted for capital punishment and was considered more merciful than executing a death sentence. Being deformed or crippled was better than being dead. Jesus applies this principle to the disciples’ spiritual life. It is better now to take every precaution and to cut off everything in our lives that leads us to sin than to be punished later in fiery Gehenna.”

2011: 45.

(2021: 172) notes,

[Entering] Life is mentioned here twice (vv. 44, 45) and then replaced with [entering] “the kingdom of God” in v. 47. Their interchangeability shows that the two ideas are parallel.... Notably, “eternal life” and “the kingdom of God” are also used interchangeably in 10:17, 24–25, and 30. The term “saved” is also used in 10:26, and so salvation is another parallel idea. As such ... Jesus is warning readers that to enter life, they must resist sin. The alternative is to enter Gehenna with a whole body but having engaged in sinful activity.

1996: 374. France (2002: 383) says “Christians who disparage ‘hell-fire preaching’ must face the awkward fact” that Jesus here “demanded the most drastic renunciation in order to avoid the unquenchable fire [of hell/Gehenna], and that he did not regard even his disciples as immune from the need to examine themselves and take appropriate action.” This is “an important corrective to the ‘cuddly’ image of Jesus which is sometimes presented” by popular pastors today (France 2007b: 134).

1996: 374.

ELEVEN

Security of the Believer—Conditional or Unconditional?

The New Testament is filled with warnings directed specifically to Christians against failing to continue in faith, of being led astray from the Christian faith from false teachers, and of becoming reenslaved to sin through fleshly living. But unfortunately, the true import of the warning passages, despite their clarity and simplicity, has been rejected by many earnest Bible scholars. Why? We need not search far to discover the reason—which, furthermore, is quite understandable. As Westcott well says, “We are all so familiar with certain lessons which the Bible contains that we come to regard them, perhaps unconsciously, as the complete sum of its teaching. Special words, phrases, incidents, inspire our own souls and mould our own faith... [so] that we pass over large sections of Scripture unstudied, or force them into unison with what we hear most

In his popular book Major Bible Chafer declares:

While the great body of New Testament Scriptures which bear directly or indirectly on this question declare the believer to be secure, there are upwards of twenty-five passages which have been cited in evidence by those who maintain that the believer is insecure. It is certain that an individual could not be at the same time both secure and insecure. Therefore, of these two bodies of Scripture, one body of Scripture must of necessity conform to the

First, allow us to excuse ourselves from the company of any who “maintain that the believer is insecure.” It is abundantly evident from the Scriptures that the believer is secure, but only the one who continues to trust in and follow Many who have debated “the security of the believer” have missed the issue. The question is not, Is the believer secure? But rather, What is a And, Is it possible for a believer to stop trusting in Jesus and become an and share in the same fate of other unbelievers? We have already argued that the New Testament writers repeatedly warn believers about such a possibility.

Second, we understand that since Chafer and others are sincerely convinced that “the great body of New Testament Scriptures” teaches unconditional security, then this would necessitate that they seek interpretations of the warning passages that would allow them to “conform” or be in harmony with unconditional security.

Their sincerity is not to be questioned. But unfortunately, their first premise has been wrong. They have misconstrued the passages they have regarded as establishing the doctrine of unconditional security. Harmony in the Scriptures is to be found, not by accepting the warning passages at less than face value by assigning them unwarranted interpretations, but through a reexamination of the proof passages of the doctrine of unconditional security. There is no lack of conformity between the warning passages and the proof passages of the advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security; the lack of conformity has been between the warning passages and people’s misconstruction of their supposed proof passages of unconditional security.

It is our intention to examine three important proof passages commonly cited in the defense of the doctrine of unconditional security from the Gospel of John.

Perhaps no verse has been more often cited in evidence by the advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security than has John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into but has passed from death to

Advocates of unconditional security say we must “note the [present] tense of the verb. The believer has eternal life. Not that he will get it in the future, but that he has it right Indeed! But we must note, as well, the words “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me” for they denote the condition governing the promise of having eternal life. Stanley Horton says: “The continuous present tenses found in the Greek of verse 24 imply that we must keep hearing and believing if we want to keep having eternal

Calvinist Anthony Hoekema would agree that those hearing Jesus’ word and who keep on believing in the Father who sent Jesus are having eternal life, but he adds that such people “have been permanently transferred from death to life.... The verb is in the perfect [indicative] tense, a tense which describes past action with abiding result. The action pictured is final and irrevocable, like that of a person who has burned his bridges behind

Hoekema’s view follows Wuest in his translation of John 5:24: “Most assuredly, I am saying to you, he who habitually hears my word and is believing the One who sent me has life eternal, and into judgment he does not come, but has been permanently transferred out from the sphere of death into the life” (emphasis

Wuest’s and Hoekema’s insertion of the word permanently constitutes an affirmation concerning the future—an assertion that the status quo resulting from the past transition cannot be altered in the future. But the Greek perfect tense makes no affirmation concerning the future. It affirms two things: the fact of an action in the past, and the fact of the continued existence of the results of the action, as of the present moment (the moment of speaking). It makes no affirmation whatever with respect to the future. Calvinist Daniel Wallace agrees:

The perfect tense “describes an event that, completed in the past (we are speaking of the prefect indicative here), has results existing in the present time (i.e., in relation to the time of the speaker)....

Chamberlain [in his Greek Grammar] goes too far when he suggests that the perfect sometimes is used to “describe an act that has abiding results.” The implication that “the perfect tells you that the event occurred and still has significant results” goes beyond grammar and is therefore misleading. Even more misleading is the notion, frequently found in commentaries, that the perfect tense denotes permanent or eternal results. Such a statement is akin to saying the aorist tense means “once-for-all.” Implications of this sort are to be drawn from considerations that are other than grammatical in nature. One must be careful to not read his or her theology into the syntax whenever it is

Wuest and Hoekema’s insertion of the word permanently is not translation, but unwarranted interpretation and commentary dictated by their theology rather than by the language of the text. The perfect tense does not in any way affirm the fact of permanency, but only affirms the fact of the present existence of the consequences of the past act, as of the moment of speaking. The fact of actual permanency must be established by supplementary comment, and there is nothing in the language of John 5:24 to affirm that the transition from death to life is irrevocable. Quite to the contrary, our Savior declares that the blessed circ*mstance of having eternal life, of deliverance from present judgment, and of standing passed out of spiritual death into life is the privilege only for those who keep on hearing Jesus’ word and trusting in the Father who sent Him.

John 5:24 fits perfectly with the other conditional promises that we have considered The person who continues trusting in the Father who sent His Son, or trusting in the Son of God...

•has passed from spiritual death to life

•will keep on having eternal life in union with Christ

•will continue to remain in a life-giving union with Christ

•will not perish or come into judgment/condemnation

•will never die spiritually

•will be raised up (resurrected) on the last day

Now, if these promises in John 5:24 are “interpreted as a guarantee that the believer’s saving relationship to God can never change, then it proves too much! The problem is that the very same kind of promises are made to Compare the following promises in John made to those believing in the Son of God and those not believing or disobeying the Son of

The one is not being condemned

The one not believing → has been condemned already

(John 3:18)

The one believing→ is having eternal

the one disobeying→will not see life

but the wrath of God is remaining upon him

(John 3:36)

Both verbs in 3:18 for believing are Greek present participles representing “continuous believing marking the one man, continuous non-believing the In verse 36, “the present participles for both believing and disobeying imply continuance in: not a single act of Since the grammar of the two is identical, then they must be interpreted in the same way. If once-saved, always-saved adherents want to argue that after one moment of faith a person keeps on having eternal life even if he/she later on becomes an then, if they want to be consistent, they should argue that after one moment of unbelief or disobedience, a person will forever be condemned to hell to suffer the wrath of God even if he or she later on becomes a

All 3:18, 36 means is that the person who remains as one of the unbelieving/disobeying will inevitably share the destiny promised to them. Likewise, the person who remains as one of the believing will inevitably share the destiny promised to them. Since the promises of condemnation/wrath and no eternal life to unbelievers do not mean that an unbeliever can never change his or her future destiny by becoming a believer, then the promises of no condemnation and having eternal life to a believer also do not mean that he or she can never change his or her future destiny by becoming an unbeliever. Just as we argued earlier, saving faith is not simply the act of a moment but the attitude of a life, so condemning unbelief/disobedience is not simply the act of a moment but the attitude of a life as

Contrary to the translations of some and the opinions of many, John 5:24 does not teach unconditional security, but conditional security. A believer’s present possession of eternal life is conditional upon a present living faith rather than the irrevocable consequence of a moment’s act of faith sometime in the

II.

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:35–40,

For a long time, John 6:35–40 has been used by Calvinists to teach unconditional election, irresistible grace, and its natural conclusion to these doctrines—unconditional security. When it comes to Calvinist interpretations of this passage, we have found two that are identical in nature but slightly different in emphasis. Thomas Schreiner and Bruce Ware are concerned with emphasizing unconditional election and irresistible grace in the book Still Schreiner and Ardel Caneday affirm unconditional election and irresistible grace but want to emphasize divine preservation or unconditional security in the book The Race Set Before Each provides a clear and compelling interpretation for these traditional beliefs of Calvinism. Since both share the same understanding of John 6:35–40, we will interact first with Schreiner and Ware and later with Schreiner and

Our understanding of God’s saving grace is very different [in comparison to the non-Calvinist understanding].... What Scripture teaches is that God’s saving grace is set only upon some, namely, those whom, in his great love, he elected long ago to save, and that this grace is necessarily effective [i.e., irresistible] in turning them to belief.

This latter understanding of grace is found, for example, throughout John 6. Take John 6:37, “All that the Father gives me will come to me; and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” The “coming” of John 6:37 is synonymous with “believing.” That the words coming and believing are different ways of describing the same reality is confirmed by what Jesus says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” To come to Jesus is to satisfy one’s hunger and to believe in him is to quench one’s thirst. It is easy to see from this verse that “coming” and “believing” are synonyms, just as the metaphors of satisfying one’s hunger and quenching one’s thirst are parallel ways of saying that Jesus meets our every need. Two verses later Jesus says “all that the Father gives me will come to me.” We would not, therefore, do any violence to the meaning of this verse in wording it as follows: “All that the Father gives to me shall believe in me.” Of course, not all people “come to” or “believe in” Jesus. The verse says that this will be true only of those whom the Father has given to Jesus. In other words, only some [i.e., the elect] have been given by the Father to the Son, and they will come [i.e., believe], and they will never be cast out, and they will be raised up on the last day (John

Schreiner and Ware identify the “all that” in verse 37 and 39 as “those whom, in his great love, he elected [or ‘selected’] long ago to What is the status of these “elect”? Are they believers or Since Classical Calvinism asserts that God chooses out of sinful humanity (before the foundation of the world) to save some (the elect) through irresistible grace, and to withhold such grace from others (the non-elect) that ensures their eternal then it would seem the elect are unbelievers who have been chosen long ago (out of the whole mass of unbelievers to choose from) whom God decides to save in time via irresistible How these “elect” get saved is explained by Schreiner and Ware in their paraphrase of verse 37a—“All that the Father gives to me shall believe in me.” Thus, this giving is “necessarily effective [i.e., irresistible] in turning them [the unbelieving ‘elect’] to belief.”

We are convinced that Schreiner and Ware have misidentified who “all that” refers to and what “will come to me” means in this context. First, a number of commentators provide a grammatical insight to their readers, which helps in accurately identifying to whom the “all that” refers. For example, Comfort and Hawley (2009: 98) write:

that the Father gives me will come to the Greek, the words “all that” are neuter singular; they indicate the total collective entity of all believers, which is given as a gift to the Son from the

That Jesus is referring to all believers collectively by this “all that” in verse 37a is confirmed when we compare the other “all that” in verse 39 with verse 40. Notice the parallel lines in the ABCCBA structure of verses 39 and 40, which point the reader toward a different understanding of “all that” than described by Schreiner and

A but raise up at the last day

B that I shall lose none of all that he has given me

C And this is the will of him who sent me

Cʹ For my Father’s will is

Bʹ that everyone looking to the Son and believing in him shall be having eternal life

Aʹ and I will raise him up at the last day

In verse 40, the word “For” shows “There is a logical connection between the last sentence and the following. The Father’s will in preserving and raising up that which [i.e., ‘all that’] he has given to the Son, includes in its fulfillment the believing contemplation of the Son and its issue in eternal The “all that” in verse 39 whom the Father “has given” to Jesus are necessarily comprised of those who are “looking to the Son and believing in him,” in verse 40. If the person who is “looking and believing” will be raised up on the last day, then the “all that” must be identified along with them since they (collectively) are going to be raised up as well. Comfort and Hawley write:

And the Father’s will is that of all that he has given the Son none would be lost. As in 6:37, the Greek words for “all that” are neuter singular; they indicate the total collective entity of all believers. This is affirmed by the following statements in Greek: “I shall not lose of it [neuter singular]” and “I will raise it [neuter singular] up on the last day.” Thus, in 6:39 Jesus speaks of the total group of believers as an entity that was given to him, that would not be lost, and that would be raised up on the last day. In 6:40 he speaks of the individual: Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last The same pattern appears in 6:37, which goes from the collective entity of believers to the individual

Other commentators (Calvinist and non-Calvinist) use similar descriptions of the neuter singular “all that” as referring to all believers

•“the collective aspect of the Father’s gift of

•“the whole mass of believers ... as a

•“the sum-total of

•“all believers ... regarded as one complete

•“the redeemed corporately, as a single

•“the corporate unity of

For grammatical and contextual reasons, we can safely say “all that” does not refer to the unbelieving elect in eternity past, but to all believers viewed Since the Father is giving the believing community to Jesus, then what did Jesus intend to convey in saying they “will come to me”?

As noted earlier, Schreiner and Ware link the word “come” in verses 35, 37b with “will come” in verse 37a, and write, “We would not, therefore, do any violence to the meaning of this verse in wording it as follows: ‘All that the Father gives to me shall believe in Other Calvinists have arrived at this but it simply cannot hold up under scrutiny.

First, it has already been determined whom the “all that” refers believers viewed Therefore, it would make no sense for Jesus to have said, “All believers corporately that the Father is giving to Me will believe in Me.” Jesus already has the believing community in view as those given to Him by the Father and who “will come” to Him.

Second, it is significant that the Greek word for “comes” in verses 35 and 37b is different from that of “will come” in Marvin Vincent says will come emphasizes “the idea of reaching or whereas the one who comes to Jesus emphasizes “the process of Vincent has accurately conveyed the difference when we observe that in verses 35 and 37b, the verbs for comes and believes “are translations of present participles, denoting not a single act of coming or believing but a continuous coming and Thus, every person who continues coming to Jesus in faith will never be spiritually hungry (v.35a), nor will they ever be driven away from Jesus (v. 37b). However, in verse 37a, Jesus does not specifically have the individual believer in mind, but all believers viewed It is they who “will come” to Jesus, and this verb is in the future tense. How is it that the community of believers will come to Jesus or reach Him in the future? The answer is provided just two verses later by the other “all that.”

“And this is the will of him who sent me, that all that [neuter singular—all believers viewed corporately] he has given me I shall not lose of it [neuter singular—all believers corporately], but raise it [neuter singular—all believers corporately] up on the last day.” (John

According to verse 39, all believers corporately whom the Father has given to Jesus will be raised up on the last day by In verse 37a, all believers corporately whom the Father gives to Jesus will come to Each time the verb “raise up” is used in John (6:39, 40, 44, 54), it is in the Greek future tense, like “will come” Therefore, it seems safe to conclude from the immediate context, from the corresponding phrase “all that” in verse 39, from the change in the Greek word and its tense, that “will come to me” in verse 37a is parallel in meaning with the phrase “I shall ... raise it [i.e., all believers up on the last day.” The believing community “will certainly to Jesus in final salvation via a future That “will come” should be interpreted in this way in John 6:37a is given further confirmation when we observe how it was used by Jesus in his other teachings alongside the phrase “cast/thrown

“I tell you, many [plural] will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11–12,

“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out Then people [plural] will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:28–29,

All that [= all believers corporately] the Father gives to Me will come to Me [in final salvation via being raised up on the last and I will never throw outside the one coming to Me. (John 6:37,

In each of these contexts, the believing community “will come” to Jesus in final while in Matthew and Luke, unbelievers will be thrown out into final In addition, the person coming to/believing in Jesus is promised never to be thrown out from Jesus into final condemnation (John

Jesus did not intend “will come to me” to be interpreted as “will believe in me.” Calvinists have overlooked contextual and grammatical clues associated with “will come” and arrived at faulty It is certainly understandable how this could happen when our English translations use the words “comes” and “will come” so closely together. Nevertheless, the failure of Schreiner and Ware, and other Calvinists, to properly note the difference in meaning between these two Greek words has resulted in them misinterpreting John 6:35–40 as teaching unconditional election and irresistible

Schreiner and Caneday believe unconditional election and irresistible grace is taught in John 6:35–40 along with its logical outgrowth—the divine preservation or unconditional security of the elect. They claim that all the people the Father gives to the Son “will come” to the Son. They see “coming” to the Son being equal to “believing” in the Son and that John 6:35 confirms this: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” It seems obvious that and believes are

Therefore, when Jesus says in John 6:37 that those given by the Father “will come” to the Son, he means that they “will believe” in the Son. We know, however, that not all believe in or come to the Son, so the Father only gives some human beings to the Son. Those who are given, however, will certainly come [37a], and those who have believed in Jesus will never be driven away by the Son [37b]. What Jesus means by this is expressed more clearly in John 6:39: “I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” No one whom the Father gives to the Son will perish; that is, not one believer will ever be lost. Jesus pledges that each one without exception will be preserved, and he also specifies to what they will be preserved when he says that he will “raise them up at the last day.” When Jesus says they will be raised on the last day, he means that they will attain the resurrection. They will enter fully into the life of the age to come.

John 6:40 clarifies this as well. Those who look to the Son and believe in him “have eternal life.” That is, they already enjoy the life of the age to come. Thus it inexorably follows, says Jesus, that “I will raise” such people up “at the last day.” No one who now has eternal life will fail to experience the end-time resurrection. Jesus promises that they will experience the resurrection because of his [irresistible] preserving work. Those whom have been specifically given to him shall never be

The reader likely noticed that Schreiner and Caneday make the same interpretive mistake Schreiner and Ware made in equating “come to me” in verses 35a and 37b, with “will come to me” in verse 37a. Since we have already given grammatical and contextual reasons for rejecting this interpretation, we need not go over this again. If we are correct in our interpretive conclusions thus far, then one cannot assume that unconditional security is being taught here as the natural conclusion to Calvinism’s unconditional election and irresistible grace doctrines.

Schreiner and Caneday are right in affirming that believers will not perish or be and that without exception believers will be raised up at the last day. Earlier we noted that when the believing community is in view (“all that” 6:37a, 39), these promises are certain to be fulfilled. Jesus promised that all believers viewed corporately/collectively “will come to me,” that is, He would “raise it [all believers corporately] up at the last day.” However, while the believing community is certain to experience being raised up (resurrected), individual believers must remain members of this believing community in order to experience being raised up (resurrected).

And this is the will of him [the Father] who sent me, that I should lose nothing [“not ... one person,” of all that [i.e., of the believing community] he has given me, but raise it [the believing community] up on the last day.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone [looking] on the Son and [believing] in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last (John 6:39–40)

While it is, indeed, the Father’s will for Jesus not to lose any believer from the community of believers, individual believers can exit out of the believing community through apostasy (becoming an unbeliever) against the Father’s will. This is clearly communicated by Jesus in John 15 to His disciples, but also in Matthew 18:10–15, which is also directed to His disciples. This passage will be discussed in more detail later in the chapter, but let us summarize the teaching and note a parallel to John 6.

Jesus provides a parable to His disciples on the necessity of properly caring for each and every one of His sheep (i.e., “little ones,” a believer). If a shepherd, who, in tending a flock of one hundred sheep, finds one missing, he is to engage in an all-out seek-and-rescue mission. Jesus leaves open the possibility of a wandering sheep (believer) not being found and returned to the flock despite the rescue effort—“And if he finds it” (18:13a, Jesus then says something that parallels what He says in John 6:

“In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones [who has wandered from the shepherd and the flock of sheep] should be lost (Matthew 18:14,

“And this is the will of him [the Father] who sent me, that I should lose nothing [i.e., not one person, of all that [i.e., of the believing community] he has given me, but raise it [the believing community] up on the last day.” (John 6:39)

In both passages, we have: the Father’s will, that not a single believer (among the flock of believers and the believing community) should become lost eternally. The only way this is possible is for the believer to stop being a believer (to commit apostasy), and thus forfeit membership in the believing community, which will certainly experience resurrection to eternal life in God’s presence. Adam Clarke (1837: 1:561–562) rightly states:

It is the will of God that every soul who believes should continue in the faith, and have a resurrection unto life eternal. But he wills this continuance in salvation, without purposing to force the persons so to God may will a thing to without willing that it shall Judas was given to Christ by the Father, John 17:12. The Father willed that this Judas should continue in the faith, and have a resurrection unto life eternal: but Judas sinned and perished. Now it is evident that God willed that Judas might be saved, without willing that he must be saved infallibly and unconditionally. When a man is a worker together with the grace of God, he is saved; when he receives that grace of God in vain, he is lost-not through a lack of will or mercy in God, but through lack of his co-operation with Divine grace. God saves no man as a stock or a but as a reasonable being and free agent.

One of the keys to unlocking this passage and its implications for the security of the believer is observing the promises made to believers corporately/collectively (which are and to believers individually (which are For example, from the teachings of the apostle Paul, we find the following:

The certainty of election and perseverance is with respect, not to particular individual men but rather with respect to the the corporate body of all who, through living faith, are in union with Christ, the true Elect and the Living Covenant between God and all who trust in His righteous Servant (Isaiah 42:1–7; 49:1–12; 52:13–53:12; 61:1, 2).

God’s Eternal Purpose in Grace:

Ephesians 1:3–4. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us [plural] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us [plural] in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless kai before Him.”

Corporate Fulfillment

Ephesians 5:25–27. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless kai

Individual Fulfillment

Colossians 1:21–23. “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless kai and beyond indeed you continue in the faith [or “your faith,” firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”

To assume that standing holy and blameless before God on Judgment Day is inevitable “for everyone who once experiences saving grace is to ignore the explicit warnings, not only elsewhere in the Scriptures, but in the very passage before us [Colossians Furthermore, it also ignores that Paul “presents final salvation as conditional upon continuing in faith” in “Colossians

We believe these conclusions can be applied to Jesus’ teaching, as well, in John. For example:

The final salvation of all believers viewed corporately

John 6:37a. “All that [all believers viewed corporately/collectively] the Father gives to Me will come to Me i.e., in final salvation via being ‘raised up on the last day’]”

John 6:39. “And this is the will of him [the Father] who sent me, that I should lose nothing [i.e., not one person, of all that [i.e., of the believing community] he has given me, but raise it [the believing community] up on the last day.”

John 10:27–28. “My sheep [plural] keep on hearing my voice, and I keep on knowing them, and they keep on following me: and I keep on giving them eternal life, and they shall never perish “be lost,” Thornhill, and no one shall snatch them out of my

The present and final salvation of individual believers

John “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who [keeps on believing] in Him will not perish “be lost,” but [keeps on having] eternal

John 6:35. “I am the bread of life; the one who [keeps on coming, to Me will not be hungry, and the one who [keeps on believing] in Me will never be

John 6:37b. “...and the one who [keeps on coming, to Me I certainly will not cast out “never throw out,”

John 6:40. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who [keeps on seeing] the Son and [keeps on believing] in Him will [keep on having] eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:54, “The one who [keeps on eating] My flesh and [keeps on drinking] My blood [keeps on having] eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day....The one who [keeps on eating] My flesh and [keeps on drinking] My blood [keeps on remaining] in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who [keeps on eating] Me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down out of heaven ... the one who [keeps on eating] this bread will live forever.”

John 8:12. “I am the Light of the world; the one who [keeps on following] Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 15:4–6. “Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must [keep on remaining] in the vine, so neither can you unless you [keep on remaining] in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who [keeps on remaining] in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not [keep on remaining] in Me, he is thrown away “thrown outside,” like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are

To assume that one moment of faith secures one’s present and final salvation with God the Father through Jesus is to ignore two important truths brought out in these passages: (1)the necessary condition (keeps on eating and drinking, feeding, following), which enables one to enter into a life-giving relationship with Jesus and to continue to remain in this life-giving union with Him; (2)the explicit warning in John 15:6 that Jesus gives to His saved disciples about the possibility of being thrown into the fire of hell as an unbeliever for failing to remain in union with Him through a persevering

All these promises in John’s gospel should “provide tremendous comfort and strength to as Schreiner and Caneday have appropriately However, we find the promises of never being spiritually hungry or thirsty; of never being thrown out from Jesus; of continuing to have eternal life with the assurance of being raised up at the last day; of remaining in a life-giving union with Jesus; and of living forever to be conditionally rather than unconditionally guaranteed. It is the ones who keep on believing who partake of all the saving promises both now and more fully upon Christ’s return. Consequently, it is not “those who have believed in Jesus [who] will never be driven away [or thrown out] by the Son,” as Schreiner and Caneday write, but those who have believed and keep on believing in

In our investigation of John 6:35–40, we did not find the Calvinist doctrines of unconditional election, irresistible grace, or unconditional security being taught. Neither did we find one moment of faith ensuring one’s eternal destiny, as Moderate Calvinists like to assert. We did find ourselves affirming the many promises found in this passage that Calvinists affirm. However, while the promises made to the believing community are certain to be fulfilled in the future, individual believers can only be certain of partaking of the promises while they are fulfilling the condition. As long as believers keep on trusting in Jesus, they can be assured of partaking of all the present and future salvific promises that Jesus promised to those who continue to remain in a life-giving and saving union with Him.

III.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.... My sheep [plural] hear [“listen to,” my voice, and I know them, and they follow I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:7–15,

Here we have, in verses 27–30, one of the most-quoted passages for teaching unconditional eternal security. It is thought to be so strong in support that it should settle the debate for any clear-thinking Christian. No one denies that this passage offers precious promises for believers, and unconditional eternal security teachers do a fine job of pointing out these promises.

For example, Calvinist Sam Storms, in his book, Kept for Jesus: What the New Testament Really Teaches about Assurance of Salvation and Eternal states that the ground for the safety of Jesus’ sheep is His Father’s omnipotence. God the Father can keep the sheep safe and secure because no one has power that is greater than His. He asks, “Was Jesus mistaken in his assessment of the Father’s power and He goes on to ask his readers, particularly those who do not affirm unconditional eternal

What will you do with his declaration that his sheep “will never perish” (John 10:28)? A more literal translation is, “They shall not, by no means, ever perish.” This is an absolute, unassailable negative. Would Jesus have said this if in fact many of his sheep will perish? If so much as one true child of God can ever perish, Jesus has deceived

He goes on to affirm, from verse 28 and the surrounding context, that no a wolf, thief, or robber—can snatch one of Jesus’ sheep out of His hand. He asks his readers: “Can we agree ... that ‘no one’ means no Since the Father has given these sheep to Jesus, and is greater than all, then “no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” Since both God the Father and God the Son hold the sheep securely, he rhetorically asks: “Who can steal from God? Who has the strength or the cunning or the power to outwit and outmuscle almighty God?” Of course, no one can since God the Father and His Son “are united in purpose and power to keep them

He goes on to add: “Someone might object, ‘They won’t perish so long as they remain sheep.’ But the text does not say that, does it? The assertion of the text is precisely that sheep always remain sheep. The point of the text is ‘Once a sheep, always a

But what if an individual sheep wanders away from God’s sheepfold, then what? Storms replies: “He wouldn’t be a good shepherd if he didn’t restore them when they wander. Our security is ultimately dependent on God’s character and commitment, not on

In the end, Storms concludes: “the only reason I affirm the perseverance of the saints is that I believe in their preservation by the Savior. We persevere only because he preserves us in

We agree wholeheartedly with Storms that Jesus’ sheep are having eternal life and will never perish. We affirm with him that Jesus was not mistaken in His assessment of the Father’s purpose and omnipotent power to protect His sheep from being snatched from His flock by wolves, thieves, or robbers. Indeed, no one can “outmuscle” God in protecting His sheep. Unfortunately, Storms has the passage saying more than what Jesus intended.

We agree with Storms that the text does not say “They won’t perish so long as they remain sheep.” But neither does the text say “sheep [believers] always remain sheep [believers],” or that God irresistibly “preserves us in faith.” These are assumptions Storms has read into the text. The text simply characterizes Jesus’ sheep collectively as those who are listening to His voice, following their good Shepherd, and receiving these promises. The issue of whether a believer can become an unbeliever (commit apostasy) and exit out of the community of believers Jesus is saving and protecting has to be determined from other contexts where this issue is specifically

John 10:27–29 is not addressing whether a believer can commit apostasy, but it is giving the believing community assurance against being snatched from the Father’s or Son’s hand by external enemies of

“Hold on, now,” someone might object, “why did you limit ‘no one’ can snatch to ‘external enemies of God’? This is an ‘all-inclusive’ ‘no one,’ as Storms Since the believer is it logically follows that the believer himself or herself is prevented from snatching themselves from God’s

We limit the “no one” to external enemies of God because the context warrants doing so. Jesus says He is not like the hired hand who, when he sees the wolf coming, “leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf [an external enemy to sheep] snatches them and scatters them” (10:12). Jesus is the good Shepherd, who loves His sheep and proves it by laying His life down for them (10:11, 15). Jesus says, “no one can snatch them out of my hand” (10:28), “no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (10:29). This “no one” is contextually tied to those persons outside the believing community who are interested in “snatching” sheep (a believer) out of the Son or Father’s hand. This “no one” does not apply to individual believers, for it is God’s sheep who need to be protected from being snatched out of His hand by the enemies of God. God’s people both want and need God’s protection from wolves who would like to snatch, and thieves who would like to steal, kill, and destroy them The context does not extend “no one” to anyone other than the external enemies of God who want to perform this God’s sheep (the people of God collectively) cannot be carried off by force from the Father or the Son’s protective hands.

But someone may ask at this point, “Okay, but what do you do with the emphatic promise, ‘They shall not, by no means, ever perish,’ that Storms pointed out?”

We rejoice in this promise as we do all the other promises Jesus gives to those trusting in or following Him. Storms does not explain the specifics of his literal translation, but Greek grammarians tell us that when two different Greek words that mean no or not are used in combination, they form what is called a “double “This is the strongest way to negate something in It carries the meaning: at all, in no wise, by no

Here are some of the promises spoken by Jesus (in the gospel of John and in Revelation) that use the double negative, which we will translate as following Calvinist Andreas Köstenberger and J. Ramsey Michaels’s in their respective commentaries on the gospel of

“I am the light of the world. The one following Me will never ever walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John

“Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never ever see death into the age.” (John 8:51)

“My sheep [plural] are listening to my voice, and I am knowing them and they are following Me, and I am giving to them eternal and they will never ever perish into the age and no one can snatch them out of My hand.” (John

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one believing in Me, even though he dies, he will live. And everyone living and believing in Me will never ever die into the age.” (John 11:25–26)

“Do not be fearing at all the things which you are about to suffer. Behold—the devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. And you will have affliction for ten days. Keep on being faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let the one having an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The one overcoming will never ever be harmed by the second death.” (Revelation 2:10–11)

“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. The one overcoming will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will never ever erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation

The reader should have noticed that all these promises of never ever walking in spiritual darkness, or experiencing spiritual/eternal death, or having one’s name erased from the Book of Life, are specifically given to the ones fulfilling the condition. The one who is overcoming (i.e., who keeps on being faithful to Jesus till death), who keeps Jesus’ word, who keeps trusting in and following Jesus, will certainly experience these promises.

None of these promises are or will be experienced unless the condition continues to be fulfilled. In John 10:27–29, the promises of having eternal life, of never ever perishing, of not being snatched out of the hands of the Father and Son, are given to God’s sheep who “are in the habit of listening to” (Wuest) their Shepherd, and who “habitually follow (present tense) “Both verbs in Greek are in the present tense and therefore denote continued Jesus’ sheep are collectively characterized as those who “continue to hear and follow in obedience” their good These are not momentary faith actions, but they necessarily refer to a way of life.

The promise of Christ to safeguard His flock of followers does not relieve them of the necessity of following Baptist scholar Dale Moody declares:

Eternal life is the life of those who continue to follow Jesus. No one can retain eternal life who turns away from Jesus. John 10:28 is frequently used as a security blanket by those who ignore many of the New Testament warnings about going back or falling away, but a literal translation of John 10:27–28... [reveals] a promise to those who continue to follow Jesus. Not for one moment do I doubt this literal translation: “My sheep keep on hearing my voice, and I keep on knowing them, and they keep on following me: and I keep on giving them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.” ... The verbs are present linear, indicating continuous action by the sheep and by the

Continuing to follow Jesus is not optional for remaining in a saving relationship with Him and a member of the good Shepherd’s flock that comes under His sovereign These promises in John 10:27–28 are certain to be experienced by the believing community for they are characterized as listening to (obeying) Jesus and following Him.

But can an individual sheep (believer) stop following Jesus and wander away from the flock? Some unconditional eternal security advocates are quick to admit that a sheep (believer) can wander away from God and His people for a time, but ultimately God’s irresistible grace makes sure that they do not fall away (apostatize) and perish eternally as an unbeliever. But is this true to what Jesus Himself taught about His wandering sheep—that they are always found and returned to the sheepfold? To this question we will now seek an answer.

In the course of interpreting Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:5–14, we will discover that it does not follow “once saved, always saved” theology—“once a believer, always a believer,” or “once a sheep, always a sheep.” In fact, Jesus warns His twelve disciples about causing other believers or themselves to become unbelievers (i.e., to commit apostasy) and wind up perishing eternally in

And whoever welcomes [“receives,” one such child on the basis of My name, welcomes Me. But whoever causes one of these little ones believing in Me to fall would be better for him that a donkey’s millstone be hung around his neck and he be sunk in the deep part of the sea. Woe to the world because of the causes-of-falling For it is a necessity that causes-of-falling should come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the cause-of-falling comes. But if your hand or your foot is causing you to fall cut it off and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire having two hands or two feet. And if your eye is causing you to fall tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than to be thrown into the Gehenna of fire having two eyes. (Matthew 18:5–9, emphasis added)

The disciples are to be welcoming these “little ones” trusting in Jesus, and in doing so they are welcoming Jesus “This group highlights the church’s weaker members, such as believing children, youths, slaves, uneducated, poor, and marginalized The opposite of warmly receiving these believers is to be causing them to fall away from Jesus (v.6a). As Davies and Allison note: “in view of the consequent punishment ... must signify causing others to lose their faith and fall away from or, in other words, to commit “apostasy ([as in Matthew] 13:21;

Jesus goes on to pronounce a double “woe” to persons responsible for entice believers to commit These woes of divine judgment are directed specifically to “the world” comprised of Lenski says, “The world will always set deathtraps for them [i.e., believers] and bait them in all sorts of ways, and some believers will be caught. Because Jesus knows the nature of the world and the dangers to which his believers are exposed he pronounces this

“When Jesus says it would be better to be drowned with this stone around the neck,” than to be leading little ones to abandon their faith in Jesus, “he means that it would be a blessing if a person died this awful death before misleading a little one by false teaching or false living and so suffer eternal damnation (Schlatter, Der 548; Bertram, 3:916–917; cf. 1Corinthians 5), for ‘the only thing more terrible than being drowned with a millstone about one’s neck is damnation at the Last Judgment’ (Stählin,

This conclusion is further confirmed when Jesus explained the parable of the weeds to His disciples earlier:

“The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man. And the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. And the darnel [“weeds,” “tares,” are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy having sown them is the devil. And the harvest is the conclusion of the age. And the harvesters are angels. Therefore, just as the darnel is collected and burned up with fire, so it will be at the conclusion of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will collect out of His kingdom all the causes-of-falling and the ones doing And they will throw them into the furnace of fire. In that place, there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth. (Matthew 13:37–42, emphasis added)

The skandalon are persons “who lead [others] into sin and As the [weeds] are sown by the devil (v.39, cf. 15:13), so the are the devil’s children (cf. John 8:38, 41, 44; 1John 3:10) who work against God in the kingdom of the Son of Man (Matthew 13:41) and try to cause as many as possible to fall [away]. Their end will come with that of the devil and his hosts (on v.42 cf. Revelation

The disciples are in verse 6 not to be the cause of a fellow believer to apostatize, or be the cause of their own apostasy by failing to take drastic steps in ridding oneself of sin that erodes faith or trust in God (vv. While the language of cutting off the hand or foot, or the tearing out of the eye is “graphic its intended meaning is clear. Followers of Jesus must act quickly and decisively in severing themselves from any kind of sin before it is too late. For when sin is persisted in and goes unchecked by repentance in a believer’s life (via the amputation of that which is leading one to abandon faith in the end result is apostasy (becoming an unbeliever) and suffering “eternal Jesus vividly warns His disciples: “The war with sin in the here and now determines one’s final into (eternal) or being thrown into the eternal fire of hell All believers are called to take actions that protect themselves and Jesus’ “little ones” (believers) from committing apostasy and being thrown into hell as unbelievers.

Protecting “little ones” from apostatizing receives additional attention in verses

“See that you do not despise [“look down upon,” cf. one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:10–14)

Christ demands the disciples to “see that” they do not despise His “little ones” (believers, v.6), or sheep. The command suggests both “warning and and the present-tense imperative expresses “the need for continual in this manner. Christ-followers are never to look down upon or treat fellow believers as having no Running over them (i.e., harming them spiritually, or neglecting their spiritual is contrary to how much God the Father values them. They are so valued He has assigned angels to watch over

These angels reside in a place of great privilege (see also Lk. 1:19). They have constant access to the Father (Newman and Stine 582). Exactly what Jesus intended to indicate about the role of these angels in caring for humble followers is unclear. Regardless, the role is positive for these little ones and negative for those who would cause them harm! [cf. 18:5–7] ... Consequently, what is clear is that if God and His angels have such concern for His little ones, all believers should have that same concern for each other (Hagner

Followers of Jesus are to adopt a shepherd-like concern for each believer, especially for the sheep who have wandered away from God and His people. “‘What do you think?’ is an invitation to consider a matter seriously, and here a rhetorical device to strengthen the assumed affirmative answer ... to the question that Of course, a caring shepherd will leave his ninety-nine sheep to go and find his one sheep who has gone astray. That the shepherd invests more time and energy on finding this one sheep in comparison to the ninety-nine who are safe in the fold serves to emphasize Jesus’ point: straying sheep matter to God, and they need to matter to the disciples as

Jesus does not specify how the believer winds up going “astray” but the immediate and larger context of Matthew’s gospel provides us with the following potential reasons: (1)false teaching (Matthew 24:4ff.; cf. (2)sinful living (18:8–9; cf. 5:27–30; (3)persecution (Matthew 10:16–33, 40–42; 24:9–10; cf. 13:20–21), coupled with believers not welcoming fellow believers who are fleeing and (4)believers looking down upon or treating with contempt Jesus’ little sheep (18:5, Any of these could prove to be a catalyst for a believer to wander away from God and His community.

Regardless of the reason for this wandering, the Father’s will is that not one of His precious straying sheep remains missing and ends up perishing eternally as an The word “perish” refers to being “lost and includes “the ultimate loss of for it is the opposite of entering into life of the coming age, and parallel to being cast into hellfire for apostasy (vv. 8–9; cf. Matthew Since the shepherd knows that one of his sheep is in danger of causing themselves to as an apostate (unbeliever), this motivates the shepherd (disciples/believers) to persistently for them and then be ecstatic in finding But even when believers act as good shepherds in seeking out straying sheep, there is no guarantee that the sheep will be found—“if he finds it.” “‘If’ in verse 13 introduces a [Greek] third-class condition, which allows for the possibility that the shepherd will not find the Meyer 1879: 2:9 states: “This expression is unfavourable to the [Calvinist] notion of irresistible grace.” Indeed, God does not act irresistibly to force one of His sheep to continue to follow/trust Him and thus, to remain members of the believing community He will ultimately save.

The sad and sobering reality of wayward sheep not being found should never come as a result of disciples not caring enough to engage in an all-out rescue mission to find The believing community serves the will of God by rescuing a backsliding believer before they commit and “become lost

As we have seen, there are many precious promises found in Scripture in which believers can take comfort. The gospel of John provided some of the strongest promises found in the New Testament. However, contrary to popular opinion, none of these promises is guaranteed due to unconditional election or irresistible grace (Classical Calvinism), or due to one moment of faith in Jesus with no need for continuing in faith (Moderate Calvinism). Saving faith is a living faith in a lifegiving Shepherd. The good Shepherd keeps on giving eternal life to His flock of sheep, characterized as those who keep on listening to (obeying) His voice and who keep on following Only they can rest safe and secure in the hands of the Father and Son against all hostile forces opposed to God and His people.

However, Jesus did not teach “once a sheep, always a sheep.” In fact, Jesus issued a strong warning to anyone involved with causing one of His “little ones” (sheep) believing in Him to fall away as an unbeliever. Jesus said it was possible for an individual sheep (believer) to choose to wander away from God’s flock and wind up becoming an unbeliever who is lost eternally. Here we find no thought that Jesus irresistibly forces a sheep (believer) to remain in His flock. Therefore, we would do well to biblically communicate to believers the security they have from God’s enemies as they are continuing to follow (trust) But we should also warn them of the very real danger of apostasy. Furthermore, pastors and leaders in our churches should prayerfully consider whether they have been active in seeking to rescue wandering sheep, or negligent in carrying out this responsibility in obedience to their great Shepherd’s teaching.

1892: vii.

1953: 187. Chafer cites twenty-seven passages in Major Bible and fifty-one passages in his Systematic Theology (3:290–312).

have laid much emphasis on the words “shall not come into condemnation” But the Greek text reads “comes” indicative, rather than future, and accurate translation must retain the present tense, as the majority of translators have done. It is true that the present tense may serve the function of the future tense. (Obviously, any “coming into judgment” must necessarily be future, as related to the present moment.) But the use of the present tense, rather than the future, refutes the emphasis which many have placed upon the words as they appear in the The point of Jesus’ statement is that, on the basis of their present faith, all hearing and believing are delivered from present condemnation occasioned by unbelief (cf. John 3:18–19) and stand passed perfect active indicative) out of spiritual death into life.

“has crossed over from death to life.”

1980: 72.

1965: 23, emphasis added. The present tense verbs indicate “an ongoing condition of hearing and believing” (Yocum 1986: 128; So Banks, Persevering 35).

1994: 237, emphasis added.

is helpful in translating the present tense participles as “habitually hears” and “is believing.”

1996: 574.

3:14–16; 3:36; 6:40, 47, 54–58; 11:25–26; 20:31; 1 John 5:10–13.

“Editor’s Note on John 5:24: Do Promises to Believers Guarantee their Security?” in Stallings 1989: 85.

have followed Thornhill’s translations of John 3:18, 36. However, instead of using Thornhill’s “entrusting” in v. 18, 36a, we have used “believing” found in literal translations and Interlinear translations

“present participle” here “indicates continuous action. Those who keep on believing and trusting in Jesus are not condemned, are not under judgment” (Tourville 1988: 73; cf. R. Mounce 2007: 401).

(2010: 227–228) notes that eternal life” in v. 36, “is present tense: the one who believes ‘has’ eternal life now, as a present possession.” Thus, we have chosen to bring out the present-tense verb in our translation as: “is having eternal life.”

1943: 267.

& Mantey 1964: 102. “Notice the present tenses, ‘believes,’ ‘disobeys’; John is not thinking of a single act but of a pattern of life” (Brown 1966: 162. So Pack 1975: 69).

last two paragraphs I owe to Robert Picirilli’s insightful comments: “Editor’s Note on John 5:24: Do Promises to Believers Guarantee their Security?” in Stallings 1989: 85–86.

on John 5:24, Harry Jessop (1942: 33) wrote: “Eternal life is a bestowal conditioned by a faith relationship, and is retained only as the conditions are fulfilled. The condition here is a present-tense believing, a faith link, the implication being that to cease to believe cancels the relationship.” Nowhere do we find in Scripture that believers are being saved or having eternal life “with any less degree of faith and devotion than that with which” they began this saving relationship with God the Father and His Son (Jessop 1942: 33).

are using the because the Calvinist authors who we will be interacting with in this chapter do so.

Rapids: Baker Books, 1995, 2000.

Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

should note that Schreiner and Ware and Schreiner and Caneday both include John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day,” in arguing for unconditional election, irresistible grace, and unconditional security. For an excellent rebuttal (specifically to unconditional election and irresistible grace), see William Klein’s The New Chosen Revised and Expanded Edition, 2015: 114–121, where he discusses John 6:44–45; 6:65; and 12:32.

&Ware 2000: 14–15. Word(s) inserted in brackets [ ] are mine.

(1990: 290) has “all that” referring “to the elect collectively.” Witherington (1995: 158) says it is “referring to an elect group, not elect individuals.”

to Calvinists, no person ever becomes saved or regenerated without a sovereign and supernatural work of irresistible grace performed upon the soul. This sovereign and irresistible grace “may be granted or withheld according to the good pleasure of God. Consequently, salvation, to whomsoever it may be granted, is entirely of [irresistible] grace.... If any person believes, it is because God has [irresistibly] quickened him; and if any person fails to believe, it is because God has withheld that [irresistible] grace which He was under no obligation to bestow” (Boettner 1936: 166, emphasis added). Why do the wicked or unregenerated reject the testimony of God’s love and salvation? Calvin says, “And God also, to show forth his glory, withdraws the effectual [i.e., irresistible] working of his Spirit from them” 3:24.2, emphasis added).

one that the Father had given to Christ in eternity past, ‘cometh’ to Him in time—comes as a lost sinner to be saved...” (Pink 1975: 1:330). Cf. Storms 2015: 21 “the Father was pleased to make a gift of certain sinners to his most blessed Son....”

F. F. Bruce (1983: 154) who writes:

In the first part of verse 37 the pronoun ‘all’ is neuter singular (Gk. denoting the sum-total of believers. In the second part (‘the one who comes’) each individual member of that sum-total is in view. This oscillation between the [believing] community as a whole and its individual members reappears in verses 39 and 40.

are following the translation, but we bring out the present-tense verbs in the passage following the essentially literal translations of and Thornhill.

NET translation note on John 6:39 reads: “The plural pronoun ‘them’ is used rather than neuter singular ‘it’ because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does” (see biblegateway.com). The and 2011 both use “them” as the and likely for the same reason.

1903: 2:150.

& Hawley 2009: 99, bold and brackets are from the authors.

1978: 294.

1943: 463, 468; Robertson 1934: 409.

1983: 154; Harris 2015: 135.

1903: 2:150.

2010: 118.

& Mastin 1968: 190. “God gives to Jesus the company of (Klein 2015: 112).

& Ware 2000: 14–15.

Kruse 2004: 171; Murray 1955: 158; Peterson & Williams 2004: 49.

(1978: 294) states that hēkō in verse 37a, “is probably used synonymously with “comes”]; John uses such pairs of synonyms .... but the decisive consideration here is the use of “the coming”] in the same verse [37b].” We do not believe Barrett is correct in his conclusion for the reasons we give in this chapter.

1903: 2:150.

& Mantey 1964: 161. Osborne (2007: 171) says “the present tenses of the participles indicate it does not speak about a crisis faith-decision but rather about persevering in those two states.”

are following Comfort and Hawley’s (2009: 99) translation here.

specifically, “raise up” and “will come” are both future-active indicatives.

197, write that hēkō is a “Specific fut[ure], ‘will certainly come.’”

teaches that a group of people [i.e. believers collectively] are en route to a grand and glorious destination—resurrection to life everlasting” (Klein 1990: 140–41). This promised future resurrection was taught earlier by Jesus in John 5:28–29.

each of the following passages, will come is a future-tense verb like we find in John 6:37a. We have added the italics in each passage.

the NT the word is used predominately of the eschatological [i.e., future and final] coming to salvation and judgment” (Schneider, TDNT 2:928). See also Matthew 24:14, 50; Luke 12:46; Romans 11:26; Hebrews 10:37; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 2:24–25; 15:4; 18:8, where hēkō refers to a future coming to salvation and judgment.

be fair to Calvinists, many non-Calvinist have mistakenly interpreted “will come to me” to equal “will believe in me.”

can only hope that future Bible translations will provide readers with at least a footnote about the distinction in meaning between these two Greek words: erchomai (“comes”) and hēkō (“will come to me”). Vincent has “will reach Me” (1903: 2:150; cf. Lenski 1943: 464 “will get to me”), which would be an improvement and potentially help readers to avoid misinterpreting “will come to me” to mean “will believe in me.”

& Caneday 2001: 249.

& Caneday 2001: 249–250.

agree that believers (i.e., those who are trusting in will not perish or be lost, but this passage does not suggest that God irresistibly makes believers remain Those who are fulfilling the condition, coming to and trusting in Jesus, can be assured of partaking of the promises (having life and being resurrected). In this passage, Jesus does not address whether believers can wander away from God and the believing community and become unbelievers whose destiny is to perish or to be lost eternally. Later in John 6 it is implied that those disciples of Jesus who stopped following Him no longer have life due to forsaking Jesus, who is the Bread that gives life to those trusting and following Him.

the but replacing “looks” and “believes” with a more literal translation: looking and believing (cf. Adam Clarke says of is the will of him who sent that we should not “take a wrong meaning out of his words, as many have done since.” Jesus tells His listeners “that, far from any person being excluded from his mercy, it was the will of God that every one who saw him might believe and be saved. The without which they could not believe, he freely gave them; but the use of that power was their own. God gives the grace of repentance and faith to every man; but he neither repents nor believes for any man. Each must repent for his own sins, and believe in the Lord Jesus, through the grace given, or perish” (1837: 1:562).

NRSV have “be lost,” and others “perish,”

and adapted from Robert Shank, Elect in the 1989: 206–207. Shank’s view originally appeared in Life in the Son (1960) on page 366.

2002: 201; cf. Still 2006: 297. See full discussion of Colossians 1:21–23 in chapter 5.

by Dale Moody, former professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1947–1983) in The Word of 1981: 357–358.

are following the NASB here and in the verses that follow. However, please see the next footnote which gives the reason we are using the “keeps on” language in these verses.

bring out the present tense verbs in John 6:35, Comfort and Hawley’s write: “Note again how Jesus put this in the present tense (signifying ongoing action): He who comes [or, keeps on coming] to me will never go hungry, and he who believes [or, keeps on believing] in me will never be (Bold and brackets are Comfort & Hawley’s 2009: 111). We find the “keeps on” language by Comfort and Hawley to capture the “ongoing action” of these present tense verbs to be very helpful. Thus, we will consistently use this “keeps on” language to bring out the present-tense verbs in the preceding verses as we follow the

course, we could have added these others passages that affirm conditional security: John 3:14–15, 18, 36; 5:24; 11:25–26; 12:25–26; 12:44–46; 14:1–3; 20:31.

teachings of Jesus in John 6:37b and John 15:6 are not in “theological contradiction” as Storm (2015: 47) asserts. Both texts affirm the same conditional reason for certainly not being “thrown out” from Jesus, or for certainly being “thrown out” from Him.

John 6:37b. “...and the one who keeps on coming to Me I certainly will not cast out Or,

John 15:6. “If anyone does not keep on remaining in he is thrown away or “thrown out,” like a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

The person who keeps on coming to (i.e., Jesus is promised that they will never be thrown out from Him (6:37b). The disciple/believer who fails to keep on remaining in union with Jesus (i.e., by not continuing to trust in John 6:54, 56–58) commits apostasy (becomes an unbeliever) and will certainly be thrown out from Jesus into the fire of hell along with other unbelievers (John 15:6). Therefore, these two verses do not contradict one another, but complement one another and affirm the conditional security of the believer as taught by Jesus.

& Caneday 2001: 250.

F. F. Bruce (1983: 154) writes, “No believer need fear being overlooked among the multitude of his or her companions in the faith. The community as a whole, and each member of the community, having been given by the Father to the Son, will be safely kept by the Son until the consummation of the resurrection life ‘at the last day.’” We affirm along with Calvinists that Jesus keeps believers safe and secure until the consummation of the resurrection life at the last day (cf. John 10:27–29). However, this security is not guaranteed as a result of unconditional election and irresistible grace, nor because a single moment of faith was exercised sometime in the past as Modified Calvinists suggest. The believer’s security is conditional upon an ongoing and living trust in Jesus as enabled and empowered by God (cf. Phil. 2:12–13).

contrast to moderate Calvinists, Schreiner and Caneday would agree with classical Arminians that believers must continue to trust in Jesus in order to receive the promises. But Arminians would disagree with them that this trust/belief begins and continues because of unconditional election and irresistible grace.

have already made our case in chapter 4 for understanding following Jesus as a metaphor for trusting in Him and is not optional for remaining in a saving relationship with Him.

Osborne (2007: 151) provides helpful background information on Jesus’ teaching here.

In chapter 9, the Jewish authorities oppose Jesus utterly and appear not only blind to the truth of God in him but also threaten anyone who would become his follower. The chapter ends with the verdict that their sin remains (9:41). In John 10, we see Jesus expand on that verdict, as he continues to address them and reveal that they are false shepherds, thieves and robbers, and hired hands who care nothing for the flock of God. In contrast, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the gate to God’s sheepfold.

Jesus’ message here is expressed in the form of an extended metaphor or “illustration” (10:6), using shepherding as a means of teaching these ideas. It builds on Ezekiel 34, where God tells Ezekiel to “prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel” (Ezek 34:2). They had forsaken their flock, so God said he himself would shepherd his people and “set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them” (Ezek 34:23). It is generally agreed that this is a messianic promise, and Jesus saw himself fulfilling that prophecy as the Good Shepherd (10:11).

2015:23.

is assuming here that those who deny unconditional eternal security hold that a “true child of God,” “a sheep” can perish (i.e., go to hell). But this is simply false. Only unbelievers (those not trusting in or following Jesus) can perish or wind up in hell. God’s sheep here are characterized as those who are presently following (trusting) It is they who will never ever perish, for they are fulfilling the condition that avails them of the promise. Now whether one of God’s sheep (a believer) can become an unbeliever (apostatize) and join other unbelievers in hell is a question that has to be answered from examining other passages that address this issue of apostasy. So, just like Storms, we do not hold that a believer can perish, only a believer who becomes an unbeliever can

2015: 23.

2015: 24.

2015: 24. We will call into question Storms assestment here about God always restoring wandering sheep when we look at Matthew 18:5–14 later in this chapter.

2015: 24. See the fine critique of Storms’s book by Matthew McAffee in 58/4 (2015): 858–861.

the end of this chapter, we will look at Matthew 18:5–14, which specifically addresses the possibility of believers (sheep) becoming unbelievers and exiting out of the community that God is saving. We have already determined from the teachings of Jesus and other New Testament writers that believers can become unbelievers (commit apostasy) and sever their saving relationship with God through Christ and the Spirit. See previous chapters 5–8, and also these later chapters: 10, 12, 13, 17–21.

“no one can snatch” refers to “enemies from without who seek to carry off the sheep” (Godet 1886: 2:162), of “any hostile being that might attack his sheep” i.e., “(Satan, demon spirits, human foes however mighty)” (Lenski 1943: 756, 758). “This speaks to the matter of being ‘stolen’ by outside forces or false shepherds, not to the matter of personally chosen apostasy” (Witherington 1995: 190–191). Jesus specifically has in mind “Israel’s disobedient leaders, in particular the Pharisees he has been reproving [in chapter 9]” (Keener 2004: 1:805). So Barrett 1978: 367; Osborne 2007: 151.

2015: 23.

(2015: 23–24) argues in this same direction.

rightly acknowledged that this snatching goes back to the “wolves” in 10:12, and that it applies to the thieves and robbers as well (10:1, 8, 10), but it takes “no one” beyond its textual boundaries in saying that it refers to believers themselves.

74: seize, carry off by Jn 10:12.”

2000: 22.

1996: 468.

410.

use “never ever” in their translations of John 6:35b, 8:51, 10:28, and 11:26 (see Köstenberger 2004: 198, 252, 299, 324; Michaels 2010: 359, 501, 593, 626).

following translations in the body and footnotes are our own that closely follow essentially literal translations such as and Thornhill.

“I have come into the world as a light, so that everyone believing in Me should not remain in the darkness” (John 12:46,

eternal life is not only something promised for the future; the present tense indicates that the giving is present and continuous” (Turner & Mantey 1964: 221).

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, so that everyone believing in Him shall not perish, but shall be having eternal life” (John 3:16,

“And nothing unclean, and no one practicing abomination and falsehood, will never ever come into it [i.e., the Holy City], but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). “Blessed are the ones washing their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone loving and practicing falsehood” (Revelation 22:14–15).

Mounce 2007: 507.

& Mantey 1964: 221, emphasis added. So Yocum 1986: 123; Horton 1965: 45; Coppedge 2001: 342.

2001: 342. The Greek word hearing/listening, (10:27, cf. 10:8) can refer to an “obedient hearing” (Mounce’s 326). In this context, akouō means yield obedience to the of the good Shepherd (Thayer 23).

(1859: 266) says, “The Reformed Church (the Calvinistic) bases on v. 28 the doctrine that the regenerate [i.e., saved] can never apostatize. Christ undoubtedly says that no power can snatch away his sheep from him, (Romans 8:37–39); but he furnishes also the marks of his sheep, and only so far as the stipulations contained in v. 27 and 28 are fulfilled, so far consequently as the disciple of Christ continues with Christ, (John 8:31), is he invincible.”

1981: 357–358. “A number of the verbs are present tense, implying continuous, ongoing action and can be translated: ‘My sheep keep on hearing My voice, and I keep on knowing them, and they keep on following Me, and I keep on giving them eternal life’” (Arrington 2005: 62; So Horton 1965: 45; Banks, Persevering 27). Thornhill: “My sheep are listening to my voice, and I know them and they are following Me; and I am giving to them eternal life and they will never ever be lost.”

would not disagree with us here, but he believes that God irresistibly makes sure that followers of Jesus remain followers due to unconditional election and irresistible grace. However, apart from citing John 10:27–30 at the beginning of his commentary on this text, Storms fails to mention even once the defining characteristic (hearing and following Jesus) that makes it certain that God’s sheep will be partaking of these promises.

is nothing in Matthew 18:1–35 to suggest that Jesus is addressing people who have never been saved, or that the consequence for falling away from God results in the loss of some sort of heavenly reward. The disciples are the future leaders of God’s people, and Jesus is preparing them to lead in such a way as to promote the spiritual and eternal well-being of each of its members.

means] ‘accept as infinitely valuable,’ that is, treat as warmly as if receiving Jesus into one’s home” (Hare 1993: 210).

2011: 71.

& Davies 2004: 297. So Franzmann 1989: 356, 358; Hare 1993: 211; Osborne 2010: 674; Oropeza 2011: 71; Hagner 1993: 2:520, 522; Newman & Stine 1988: 578; Giesen, EDNT 3:248. Stählin says means ‘to cause loss of faith,’ i.e., ‘to rob of eternal salvation’” 7:351). Keener (1997: 285) says it means “causing the person to fall from the way of Christ and to be damned (as in Jn 6:61; 1 Cor 8:9).” The words skandalon and skandalizō “go beyond the idea of stumbling (from which one may rise)” and therefore refer to “spiritual destruction.... The sense is: whoever destroys a child or a childlike believer spiritually incurs the greatest wrath of Christ” (Lenski 1943: 686). In the New Testament, skandalon and skandalizō refer to hostile to that are “always something terrible ... because thereby the salvation and redemption of another is threatened” (Schnackenburg, EBT 813).

2005: 2:432. So Meyer 1879: 2:6. “[Matthew] is thinking here also of leading people into apostasy is obvious, since the little ones are described as ‘those who believe in me.’ Of course, in Matthew apostasy is not simply a matter of embracing false doctrine, since it expresses itself in concrete deeds that do not correspond to the will of God (cf. 7:21–23)” (Luz 2005: 2:432–433). Gundry 2010: 79, “causing a fellow disciple’s apostasy.” Hare 1993: 211, “the ‘little ones’ are particularly vulnerable to temptations and apostasy.” Hill 1972: 273, “‘cause to fall or become apostate’.” Beare (1982: 376) says skandalizō “verges on the meaning ‘to lead into apostasy.’” The context persuades us that skandalizō does in fact mean this.

926: to enticement to apostasy ... Mt 18:7abc; Lk 17:1.” So F&M 349–350. Giesen, EDNT 3:249 “the temptation to fall away from faith.” Gundry 2010: 79, “trip up disciples, so that they fall into apostasy.” Nigel Turner (1982: 294, 304, fn. 5) says: “A look at the NT and patristic phenomena [regarding reveals that the meaning is two-fold, ‘either to put someone off from becoming a believer or to cause a believer to fall away. The scandal of the Cross is an instance of the first meaning, to cause to apostatize an instance of the second.’ [Turner is quoting from G. D. Kilpatrick, Journal of Theological Studies NS 10 (1959), 129.]”

“whoever” that causes a believer to apostatize in verse 6 was directed at insiders (the disciples), and it necessarily includes outsiders (unbelievers) as the “woes” to the “world” in verse 7 make clear. We should probably see an implicit warning to the disciples not to align themselves with the unbelieving world in enticing believers to apostatize. This could happen if believers within the church become false teachers (unbelievers) and seduce believers to commit apostasy via false teaching (see Acts 20:28–32; Revelation 2:14–17; 20–29).

1943: 689. “Both woes [in Matthew 18:7] show how terribly dangerous are. At issue are the loss of eternal salvation and eternal perdition” (Stählin, TDNT 7:347).

2004: 2:213–214. “Those responsible for causing little ones to fall away are threatened with eternal perdition” (Hare 1993: 211). France (2007a: 682) says the result of falling away “by one’s own fault is spelled out in vv. 8–9 in terms of eternal fire and hell, and it is unlikely that the penalty for bringing about another’s [spiritual] downfall would be any less.”

the present tense lawlessness,” which refers to “all those who do not keep the biblical Law that comes to its point in Jesus’ Love Command” (Luz 2005: 2:340). It is they who in their sins [who] are to be delivered to eternal torments” (Bruner 2004: 2:44, quoting Rabanus in the early church).

Osborne 2010: 534. are] people who cause people to stumble, who drive them away from the faith, who offend and hurt other people ... by discouraging allegiance to Jesus and to his moral commands... ‘The eagerness to destroy others is the hallmark of the satanic...’ (Schlatter, Das 217)” (Bruner 2004: 2:43, 44).

TDNT 7:346–347.

tone [in vv. 6–9] is ... of warning” (Allison & Davies 2004: 297).

gravity of sinning and falling away is now further stressed [in vv. 8–9]” (Hagner 1993: 2:523). “The whole warning is expressed in the second-person singular: it is for individual disciples to work out for themselves where their particular danger of ‘stumbling’ lies and to take appropriate action” (France 2007a: 683). Bruner (2004: 2:214–215) says,

Jesus’ way of approaching the problem of hurting other people’s faith is severe and death dealing. He commands us to look at what is hurting faith in ourselves and others and to kill Jesus’ thinking is like this: We are most apt to hit on how we are hurting others by discovering what is hurting One’s eroticism, for example, may be breaking out in one’s conversation, lifestyle, and teaching more often than one realizes, with deleterious effects on the community.... Jesus’ pictures of hand, foot, and eye leave much to disciples’ conscience to determine those parts of their lives that pull them and others away from Christ. It is probably not wise for the expositor to become much more particular than Jesus, for the number of possible scandals and hurts of faith is almost infinite.

2012: 330. Hyperbole is the use of obvious and deliberate exaggeration to add emphasis in making a point. Hyperbolic statements are not intended to be taken literally.

sin—unrepented and unforgiven—excludes from God’s kingdom is presupposed throughout the discourse” (Westerholm 2010: 648).

in 18:8–9] sinning is in view” and “eternal damnation for apostasy is in view” (Gundry 2010: 79). So Crabtree 2015: 306; France 2007a: 683. Lunde 310–311) rightly sees “unrepentance (Mt 5:29–30; 18:8–9 par. Mk 9:43–47)” as leading to the judgment of hell.

& Davies 2004: 299. Jesus’ teaching here is consistent with what He taught in Matthew 5:27–30, see our treatment in chapter 7.

life was standard shorthand for ‘enter the life of the coming age’ (compare 19:17)” (Keener 1997: 285). “While this life is not specifically said to be ‘eternal,’ analogy with the [eternal] fire would suggest this, and the same phrase in [Matt.] 19:17 stands alongside the specific mention of ‘eternal life’ in 19:16, 29 (cf. also 25:46)” (France 2007a: 684). “He [Matthew] uses the noun ... as an expression for eschatological [i.e. future and final] salvation, which in his Gospel is vividly and emphatically set over against eternal punishment” (Schottroff, EDNT 2:106). “In Biblical Greek ... zōē is understood eschatologically as an inheritance in the Kingdom of God or as an equivalent ... to final salvation” (Turner 1982: 486; cf. Hagner 1993: 2:523). Strong’s 2084: “In the Christian sense of eternal life, i.e. that life of bliss and glory in the kingdom of God which awaits the true disciples of Christ after the resurrection (Mt 7:14; 18:8, 9; 19:16, 17; Jn 3:15, 16; 5:24; Ro 5:17, 18; 8:2, 6, 10; Php 2:16; 1Ti 4:8; 6:19; 2Ti 1:1; 1Jn 3:14; 5:12, 13, 16).” So Robinson 320; BDAG 430; cf. Thayer 273–274; Cremer 272–274.

consistently understand thrown into “the eternal fire or “Gehenna of fire as referring to hell (for example, see Lenski 1943: 690). Thayer 558: =] “the fire of hell,” and is representative of Greek reference works that generally cite the following verses: Matthew 5:22; 13:42, 50; 18:8, 9; 25:41; Mark 9:43, 48; Jude 1:7; Revelation 14:10; 19:20; 20:10, 14 (twice), 15; 21:8 [Some include 2 Peter 3:7; Jude 23; Hebrews 10:27 as well]. See also BDAG 898; Lichtenberger, EDNT 3:198, 200; Bietenhard, NIDNTT 1:657; Abbott-Smith 394; Mounce’s 253; cf. Robinson 643; Renn 387. Some rightly see “The fire of hell is also meant in certain parables and allegories, in which trees and vines represent persons worthy of punishment Mt 3:10; 7:19; Lk 3:9; J[ohn] 15:6” (BDAG 898). So Lichtenherger, EDNT 3:198; Bietenhard, NIDNTT 1:656–657; Lunde, DJG 310–311; Renn 387.

teaching “provides a theological rational” for the preceding teaching concerning not causing fellow disciples/believers to apostatize, “as well as for the admonitions concerning proper conduct toward disciples in the remainder of the chapter” (Hagner 1993: 2:525).

no 8:11 in the earliest and best manuscripts” (Gundry 2010: 79).

2015: 307. Hagner 1993: 2:526, “stern warning.”

2010: 680.

(Greek means ‘to feel contempt for someone or something because it is thought to be bad or without value’ (Louw and Nida 1:763)” (Crabtree 2015: 307). “‘To despise,’ ... is really ‘to think down on’ as though these little ones could be disregarded, as though they amounted to little or nothing” (Lenski 1943: 691).

Lenski 1943: 691.

Crabtree 2015: 307.

2015: 307.

1993: 2:527.

letter to the Philippians (6:1) captures the sense of this section in commenting that presbyters must be ‘compassionate, merciful to all, bringing back those that have wandered, caring for all the weak, neglecting neither widow, nor orphan, nor poor’” (Garland 1993: 190).

(1972: 275) rightly notes that planaō “is a significant term for Matthew in connection with apostasy (24:4, 5, 11, 24).”

warned His disciples: “See that no one leads you astray (Matthew 24:4). He goes on to warn about being lead astray by false christs and prophets (Matthew 24:5, 11, 24). Jesus warns the church at Thyatira about tolerating a false prophetess who “teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20, cf. Revelation 2:14). In each of these passages planaō can ultimately lead a believer to commit apostasy. “[L]ittle ones (lowly followers) of Christ can fall from grace and be lost eternally by their own choice, by following the inconsistent lives and teachings of others” (Will 1975: 246).

can wander off into sin or false belief” (Crabtree 2015: 308; cf. Hill 1972: 274).

particular, welcoming your fellow disciple means showing him hospitality, especially when he’s fleeing persecution (see 10:40–42 with 10:23; also 25:31–46, where taking in one of the littlest of Jesus’ brothers equates with taking Jesus in.... A nonwelcome could cause apostasy in that the pressure of persecution would seems too much to bear given the refusal of help by a fellow disciple” (Gundry 2010: 78).

warning to them [i.e., the disciples] may be that if these believers are despised ... by their that is, looked down upon or treated with contempt, they could end up leaving the congregation and become lost eternally (18:11–14)” (Oropeza 2011: 71; cf. Scaer 2000: 115).

looks upon any member’s going astray as ultimately leading to that person’s perishing, or destruction” (Hultgren 2000: 56). “Verse 14 brings the parable to a conclusion with a dramatic theological assertion—the heavenly Father is not willing that any of these little ones be lost. This shows God’s concern that apostasy not happen to any of the followers of Jesus, but it also stresses that going astray is possible for the followers of Jesus” (Witherington 2006: 349).

1975: 246.

2005: 2:443. Lost/perish = “fall into eternal perdition” (Meyer 1879: 2:9).

John 3:16 and 10:28 the promises of not perishing and having eternal life is for those who keep on following or trusting in Jesus. Perishing (due to unbelief) is the opposite of being saved (see John 3:16–17; 1 Corinthians 1:18–21; 1 Corinthians 15:1–18; 2Corinthians 2:15–16).

(2004: 2:221) notes that perish “is in the [Greek] middle voice (not the active or passive), a voice describing action one does to oneself.”

Hill 1972: 274. “be seeking the one going astray.”

Crabtree 2015: 308.

1992: 277. “Matthew’s parable also hints that the stray sheep may not be recovered (“if he finds it,” ...), and the teaching that follows (18:15–17) reveals that erring members may not always accept correction” (Garland 1993: 190). France (2007a: 687, fn. 13) says: “The ‘if’ of v. 13a presupposes that not every straying sheep will be found, but it is not appropriate to the nature of a parable to press this detail of the story line into service for a discussion of the eternal security of God’s people.” To follow Jesus’ teaching here to its conclusion in verse 14, one is not “pressing” this detail of the story line. This “if” fits perfectly with the entire teaching of Jesus here, in the rest of Matthew’s gospel, and elsewhere in the New Testament on the possibility of believers committing apostasy and winding up in hell as unbelievers. Furthermore, this “if” is integral to the teaching of Jesus admonishing His disciples to seek out straying sheep before it is too late. If Jesus taught His disciples “once a sheep, always a sheep,” then why does He even bother stressing to the disciples their shepherd like responsibility in caring for and rescuing wandering sheep before they apostatize and perish in hell as unbelievers? Why does He bother warning disciples about not being the cause of leading a “little one” (believer) or themselves into apostasy if He knows that apostasy is impossible for believers to commit? Jesus’ teaching here does address the security of the believer and definitively rejects the unconditional eternal security position.

(2010: 79) writes: “Jesus does not state that the man would leave the ninety-nine under someone else’s care. So all the emphasis falls on seeking the stray even though it’s only one out of a hundred.... Jesus stops short of saying the straying sheep is already lost....But there remains a danger of lostness—that is, of apostasy and consequent eternal doom.”

Once-saved-always-saved proponents over confidence in being eternally secure no matter how they live is completely at odds with Jesus’ teaching here. For Jesus makes clear that no believer (sheep, little one) is immune from wandering away from God and His people and becoming an apostate (unbeliever) destined for perishing in hell.

sheep/believer] must be rescued before he apostatizes” (Crabtree 2015: 308). The warnings in this chapter are intended to prevent believers from committing apostasy (Will 1975: 246).

& Stine 1988: 584; Oropeza 2011: 71. Cf. Will 1975: 246.

are certain that once-saved-always-saved adherents will continue to mistakenly quote John 5:24, 6:35, 37b, 40; and 10:27–29 as teaching unconditional security and consequently force the numerous warning passages to “conform” to these “security” passages. In forcing these warning passages to “conform,” they will continue to read ideas into them that are not supported from the context (i.e., “they were never saved to begin with,” or, “they were saved, but they will only forfeit heavenly rewards but will still go to heaven”). It is our hope that some of our readers will recognize that these “security” passages teach the conditional security of believers and will avoid forcing interpretations on to the warning passages that cannot stand up under careful investigation from the immediate and larger context.

(2005: 62) says,

[W]e need to give these verses [John 10:27–28] their full value. A number of the verbs are present tense, implying continuous, ongoing action and can be translated: “My sheep keep on hearing My voice, and I keep on knowing them, and they keep on following Me, and I keep on giving them eternal life....”

Those who continue to hear the Good Shepherd’s voice and who continue following Him are the ones who can never perish or be snatched out of God’s hand. It is these He is giving eternal life; but if a believer ceases to follow Christ and becomes an unbeliever, his spiritual condition changes and he forfeits the gift of eternal life.

TWELVE

If We Deny Him

Jesus said to His twelve apostles, “But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:33; cf. 2Timothy 2:12). Some hold that this passage teaches that believers who deny Jesus under the threat of persecution will still be in heaven, but they will forfeit some sort of heavenly reward. For example,

Every act of our lives will be evaluated at the judgment seat of Christ (2Corinthians 5:10). To refuse to speak up for Christ because of intimidation or persecution will result in the believer’s loss of reward and consequent loss of glory in the kingdom (Romans 8:17; 2Timothy

Is this what Jesus intended to communicate to His apostles about denying Him before others—a loss of reward and glory in the Kingdom? We need to look at the larger context to determine whether this interpretation has any merit to it.

In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus “called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness” (v.1, Matthew gives the names of Christ’s apostles (vv. 2–4) who are sent out by Jesus with instructions in carrying out their mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew As they go, they are to “proclaim this message: ‘The of heaven has come Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give” (10:7–8,

Since “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” was proclaimed in both John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2, and Jesus’ ministry (Matthew it would be safe to conclude that the content of the disciples’ message was the same. While “repent” is not mentioned, it is

That people can refuse to “heed” (v.14, the Kingdom message of the disciples and suffer a worse fate on Judgment Day than that of the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:14–15) suggests that the disciples called for a response (repentance) in their

Jesus warns the disciples (“beware of people,” v.17, about the persecution that will come as they bear witness for Him (“for my sake,” v.18; “for my name’s sake,” v.22). They will be seized by force and handed over “to [Jewish] councils and flog you in their [Jewish] synagogues” (v.17, The disciples will also be brought “before governors and kings ... to bear witness before them and the Gentiles” (v.18). In addition,

will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next...” (Matthew 10:21–23a).

The disciples are to endure which means absolutely and emphatically, under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ” (Thayer 644). They are to persevere “to the end,” which likely refers to the end of their earthly life, since “put to death” immediately Jesus’ disciples are called to sacrifice their very lives and their “commitment to him must be so strong that the sacrifice is willingly

When witnessing for Jesus, the disciples will encounter opposition and persecution not only from Jew and Gentile, but from their own family members, as well. The disciples will not be hated “for who they are but because of whom they and this could lead to their death. However, Jesus promises that the one who perseveres in faith to the end “will be saved that is, they will experience “final being in “the presence of their Lord In addition, sōzō means they will also be delivered the penalties of the Messianic judgment ... [saved] from the punitive wrath of God at the judgment of the last This is supported from what Jesus says earlier to the disciples:

Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. (Matthew 10:14–15,

This shaking the dust off the feet is to be carried out “as a concerning the future consequences for those rejecting Jesus’ messengers and their Kingdom message, namely, experiencing a more severe judgment from God than that which fell upon the wicked cities of Sodom and

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are “a firmly fixed motif in the Jewish Scriptures (Genesis 10:19; 13:10; 14:10, 11; 18:20; 19:24, 28; Deuteronomy 29:23; 32:32; Isaiah 1:9, 10, 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah God could not find ten righteous people in these cities (Genesis 18:32), and He overthrew them “in his anger and wrath” (Deuteronomy 29:23) by raining down fire and sulfur from heaven upon them (Genesis 19:23–26). The disciples would have been familiar with God’s judgment upon these cities and what Jesus was implying in verse 15: Sodom and Gomorrah serve “as a model for what awaits those who reject him and his messengers. Indeed, their fate will be worse because the fuller light of the dawning kingdom of God is now being rejected; to reject Jesus’ messengers is thus to reject God and to incur his final As Bruner (2004: 470) says: “Whenever the apostolic message is proclaimed, a mini-Last Judgment is in progress, and people determine their destinies by their receptivity or unreceptivity to the message.” The final destiny of those unreceptive to the Kingdom message would have been understood as nothing other than

There is an implied warning for the disciples in verses 17–22. If they do not persevere to the end, but give up their faith in Jesus under the threat of persecution and death, they will no longer be followers of Jesus but unbelievers, and they will not be saved but condemned to hell at the final judgment along with other unbelievers (i.e., the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and those people who rejected Jesus’ messengers and their Kingdom message). This understanding is confirmed when we look at what Jesus goes on to communicate to His disciples.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:24–31)

Three times the disciples are told not to fear their persecutors, and once to fear As Lenski writes: “This is not childlike fear... but the terrifying fear of God’s holy, burning wrath which would have to strike us if we yielded to the fear of men and denied his Word and will, Psalm 90:11; Matthew The disciples must not fear people who can only kill their body but not their soul, but fear God who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Here we find Jesus placing the awful reality of hell “before the conscience of [His] Indeed, if they “do not maintain faithfulness in the midst of persecution ... God is capable of relegating them to Gehenna [with the Whom the disciples will fear, God or their persecutors, will manifest itself publicly and determine their eternal destiny.

“Whoever, then, acknowledges [confesses, before people,

I will acknowledge [confess, before my Father in heaven.

But whoever denies me before people,

I will deny him also before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32–33,

These verses are a “warning to disciples to stick to their task, an exhortation to “‘Acknowledge’ carries the sense of confess or trust i.e., to declare one’s allegiance to In the context of persecution ... such acknowledgement means remaining faithful to Jesus even if one must die for The public confession of one’s allegiance to Jesus is a sure sign that a disciple does not fear one’s persecutors but God, and such a disciple Jesus promises to confess before the Father on Judgment Day as being relationally connected to Such a confession from Jesus is necessary if one is to enter the Kingdom of heaven, for Jesus said earlier in Matthew’s gospel:

“Not everyone saying to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of My Father in the heavens. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast-out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ And then I will declare “acknowledge,” “confess,” Osborne 2012: 74] to them that ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, ones working lawlessness’.” (Matthew 7:21–23,

Living in faithful obedience to the Father’s will “is not an option but a necessity for entering the kingdom of Notice, Jesus is talking about a “life of obedience,” since doing a present participial verb) suggests “continuous This doing the Father’s will is simply “God’s will as unfolded in the Sermon [on the Mount],” which embodies “the love commandments of Doing God’s will is also the “greater righteousness” that Jesus talks about in Matthew Failure to be doing the will of God results in a negative confession by Jesus “on that day”—the day “when all will stand before God in final The implied final destiny for unbelievers here is exclusion from entering the Kingdom of heaven and departing from Jesus into

Doing the will of God (loving God and others) and confessing one’s faith allegiance to Jesus is necessary for all Christ-followers if they hope to hear Jesus confessing before the Father that they are relationally connected to Him and granted entrance into the Kingdom of

The opposite of confessing Jesus is denying Him. To deny Jesus “means the surrender of faith, ‘to The word “points not to the mere failure to witness, but rather to the straightforward rejection of one’s relationship to Jesus, that is, to open This is a “strong and the verb tense here “(aorist, constative) refers not to one moment of denial (e.g., but to the life in its entirety, which Christ is capable of assessing

Jesus teaches that before the Father on Judgment Day, He will either confess being relationally connected to a disciple who publicly confesses their allegiance to Him before others, or deny being relationally connected to a former disciple who publicly denies Him before others. Garland correctly notes the connection of 10:28 with verses 32–33:

Jesus’ admonition to fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna warns disciples against the danger of renouncing their faith under pressure, and the concluding statement in 10:32–33 assumes that Jesus is the final arbiter of one’s ultimate fate and that it will hinge on whether one acknowledges or denies him before

So, what will be the ultimate fate for the disciple who denies Jesus? Before answering this question, we should consider all that Jesus has said up to this point to His disciples in chapter 10. First, to deny Jesus is the opposite of persevering in faith to the end, of fearing God, and of confessing one’s allegiance to Jesus before one’s persecutors. Therefore, for a disciple of Jesus to have their life as a whole summarized on Judgment Day as: “He denied having any relational connection to then that disciple, at some point in life, stopped trusting in Jesus and became an As an unbeliever, he can expect to share in the same fate that awaits all unbelievers—condemnation in

In 10:28ff., Jesus explicitly warned the disciples about the reality of hell for them if they do not remain faithful in the midst of persecution. Hell was clearly implied in 10:14–15, for those unbelievers who rejected the message of the Kingdom delivered by the Lord’s apostles. However, these unbelievers will suffer a more severe experience in hell than the unbelieving inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, we are left with this conclusion: if a disciple of Jesus goes from proclaiming the Kingdom to others, which centered on Jesus, to outright denying Jesus before others, then on Judgment Day, we can expect Jesus to view them as an apostate (unbeliever), who will be condemned to hell along with those unbelievers who rejected the Kingdom

We would add, as argued earlier, that only those disciples of Jesus who persevere in faith to the end of their lives “will be saved that is, only they will forever be in the presence of their Lord and saved from the wrath of God on Judgment Day. Those disciples who deny Jesus (i.e., abandon their faith allegiance toward Him) are no longer believers, but unbelievers, and will experience the same fate as other unbelievers: from the presence of God the exact opposite of “will be

The final destiny for the Christ-denying apostate is not heaven minus some kind of heavenly reward, but It is not the loss of glory in God’s coming Kingdom, but exclusion from entering God’s glorious Kingdom occupied by King Jesus and all His faithful

Before we end this chapter, we should note that while “Matthew 10 stands as Jesus’ missionary manifesto to the twelve disciples,” His promise about receiving final salvation for the disciple who perseveres in faith and courageously confesses their allegiance to Him before others in a hostile world “applies to them and to each subsequent disciple generation” as

In the next chapter, we will see the apostle Paul following the teaching of Jesus in promising final salvation to believers who do not deny Jesus, but persevere in faith through suffering and hardship while proclaiming the Gospel message about Jesus to others.

author of these words is not stated in the New Illustrated Bible Commentary (1999: 1160). We are genuinely perplexed at how a believer loses “glory in the kingdom” for denying Jesus before one’s persecutors. Of the two passages the author cites, we will examine the 2 Timothy passage in the next chapter. In Roman 8:17ff., Paul ties suffering-with Christ to final salvation with Verses 16–17 read: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” The context connects being glorified with Christ to the hope that Christians have and are eagerly future redemption of our bodies (vv. 23–25). Paul personifies creation itself as eagerly awaiting being set free from its bondage to decay or corruption when God’s children have received a glorified resurrected body that is no longer subject to decay or corruption (vv. 19–23; cf. 1 Corinthians 9:24–27; 15:21–55; Philippians 3:9–14, 20–21; Revelation 21:1–7). This hope of final salvation with God in a glorified resurrected body is what Christians are eagerly awaiting with “endurance/perseverance” v. 25). Therefore, we find in Romans 8:17ff., that persevering in faith through suffering (likely caused by persecution) ultimately leads to the believer experiencing final salvation with God in a glorified/redeemed body. Nothing in the context suggests a loss of some kind of “reward” or of “glory” in the Kingdom of God.

(1993: 112) explains:

The command in 10:5b to go nowhere among the gentiles or Samaritans ... may sound harsh. How does one explain it? ... This passage highlights the priority of the mission to Israel during the lifetime of Jesus (4:23, 9:35;...). As the son of David, the messiah of Israel, Jesus naturally must first go to Israel; and while gentiles are not denied help, all contact with them is considered to be exceptional during Jesus’ earthly ministry. The Jewish mission and the gentile mission are not two unrelated issues: the one precedes the other (Gnilka, 1:363).... The restriction to Israel therefore accords with Paul’s perspective, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16; 2:9, 10).

language in the gospels “has more than one nuance, depending on the context—sometimes referring to God’s present saving activity breaking into human history” transforming lives through the Messiah or through His emissaries (Witherington 1992: 59). Other times the Kingdom refers to a future realm when God rules/reigns and which believers will enter or inherit (Witherington 1992: 59ff.). There has emerged a scholarly consensus that views the Kingdom of God/heaven as referring to an “already/not yet” reality (also referred to as “inaugurated eschatology”). Russell Moore, in The Kingdom of says, “the consensus on inaugurated eschatology exists throughout traditionalist conservative evangelical theology” (2004: 37). Thus, when Jesus manifested His ability to liberate people from demonic possession, to heal various diseases, and to raise the dead, He was giving evidence that God’s kingly rule and reign was already present in the person and power of Him who is Messiah and Davidic King. But the full and final manifestation of God’s rule/reign over all creation is yet to come in the future, when King Jesus arrives to completely vanquish sin, Satan, disease, and death by ushering His people into their imperishable inheritance (1Peter 1:4)—the imperishable Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50) or the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21–22), where they will reign with Him forever in imperishable resurrected bodies. For helpful treatments on understanding “the Kingdom of God,” see Darrell Bock, “Kingdom of God in New Testament Theology,” in Looking into the 28–60; George Ladd, “Kingdom of Christ, God, Heaven,” in EDT 607–611; I. Howard Marshall, “The Hope of a New Age: The Kingdom of God in the New Testament,” in Jesus the 213–238; Ben Witherington, Jesus, Paul and the End of the 51–74.

“has drawn-near.”

chapter 9:18–34, Jesus heals a woman with a bleeding issue, heals two men from blindness, raises a girl from the dead, and casts out a demon from a mute man who also begins to speak. Then Jesus continues to go “throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction” (v. 35). The readers of Matthew’s gospel cannot help but notice that Jesus’ exercise of authority and power is connected to His own proclamation of the good-news of the Kingdom, and now He has given His disciples this same authority and power as they proclaim the same message.

the parallel account, Mark 1:15 reads: “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” “The sequence of the terms ‘repent’ and ‘believe’ suggests that belief presupposes repentance and depends on it” (Edwards 2002: 47). “This suggests that repentance is a correlate of faith” (Boda 2015: 164).

Carson 1984: 245. This is confirmed in Mark’s parallel account where we find the disciples proclaiming “that people should repent” (Mark 6:12).

Dale Nave argues persuasively that repentance in the gospels and Acts demanded a fundamental “change in thinking that leads to a change in behavior and / or way of life” (“‘Repent, for the Kingdom of God Is at Hand’: Repentance in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts,” in Repentance in Christian 98). So Lunde, DJG 669: “Repentance in the Gospels refers to the radical ‘turning away’ from anything which hinders one’s wholehearted trust in God.” For an excellent discussion of repentance in the OT and NT, see Mark Boda, ‘Return to Me’: A Theology of

1994: 94. Flogging was “the standard legal punishment meted out by both the Roman and the Jewish authorities of the day for disorderly conduct” (Weaver 1994: 94).

term ‘brother’ is used by Matthew as a typical designation for members of the community the term is masculine but is used in a generic sense; see 5:22, 23, 24, 47; 7:3, 4, 5; 12:49–50; 18:15, 21, 35; 23:8; 25:40; 28:10). Use of the term here implies that the divisions are not just within families but in the Christian community itself with the threat of persecution causing apostasy and betrayal” (Senior 1998: 119).

of my name’ is likely to stand elliptically for ‘because of your confession of my name’ (cf. the confessional language of vv. 32–33). In part the information about coming persecution is provided to forewarn the disciples in order to prepare them for the path of perseverance along which they must make their way through the period of escalating difficulty” (Nolland 2005: 426).

Lenski 1943: 405; Gundry 2010: 42; Vanlaningham 2014: 1470. The phrase “to the end” is idiomatic for “completely, totally, entirely, wholly” (LN, 692), i.e., for however long the hostility lasts and however it may end (Blomberg 1992: 175, fn. 25).

1984: 250.

2010: 390.

H. Marshall, DJG 722; Will 1975: 135. “Jesus is talking about future or final salvation” (A. Stanley 2006: 248). “[Perseverance] is a decisive precondition if the individual is to attain personally to the final salvation of God” (Hauck, TDNT 4:585). Others describe sōzō in Matthew 10:22 as “future” salvation (Abbott-Smith 436); “eschatological salvation” 7:991); (Alford 1874: 107); “eternal salvation” (Gundry 2010: 42). BDAG 982: “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, save/preserve from eternal death from judgment, and from all that might lead to such death, e.g., sin, also in a positive sense bring Messianic salvation, bring to Thayer 610). Cremer 534: “to be saved from perdition, condemnation, judgment.” Strong’s 2161: “Specifically of salvation from eternal death, sin, and the punishment and misery consequent to sin. To save, and (by implication), to give eternal life” Robinson 706; Bloomfield 429).

1992: 257. “Christians will be greatly tempted to apostatize, but perseverance will bring eternal life (v. 22b). ‘Saved’ clearly cannot refer to the preservation of physical life since some believers are martyred for their faith” (Blomberg 1992: 175). “Jesus speaks of that eschatological salvation which the disciples will receive on the ‘day of judgment’ mentioned in 10:15” (Weaver 2004: 99). Joseph Benson (1854: 99) writes: “But be not discouraged at the prospect of these trials, for he that perseveres in the faith and practice of the gospel, and who bears constantly and with invincible patience these persecutions, (which my grace is sufficient to enable you all to do,) shall be finally and eternally saved from all sin and misery, into the kingdom and glory of God.”

610. “[‘Will be saved’ refers to] salvation ... from hell” (Crabtree 2015: 170).

2004: 88.

is evident that the present reference to these cities focuses on their reputation as evil cities which met with the judgment of God ... it does not point to the specific reputation of Sodom as the city which refused hospitality to the messengers of God” (Weaver 2004: 196, fn. 96). Weaver 2004: 196–197, fn. 98 says this future...

prediction of judgment to come is a reference to the eschatological ‘day of judgment’ and not to a prior judgment which will occur ‘in the course of history’ [as argued by Caird, 41–42]. This is evident, on the one hand, from the fact that the term ‘day of judgment’, as found in previous Jewish writings [i.e., Ps. Sol. 15.12; Jub. 4.19], serves to designate a specific moment at the end history. It is evident, on the other hand, from the thrust of Jesus’ words themselves. Even though the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah have long ago been destroyed by God as a sign of his judgment upon them, Jesus indicates that they still await a terrible fate on the ‘day of judgment’. And it is this fate, rather than the physical destruction of the cities themselves, to which Jesus correlates the fate of ‘that city’ which does not receive his disciples and their ministry. Further, the severity of this judgment hinges on the significance of the ministry which is rejected: to turn down that which the disciples offer, the gift of the kingdom of heaven itself (10:7), is to incur a guilt greater than any guilt previously incurred, since the gift is greater than any gift previously offered.

2004: 196, fn. 96.

2007a: 387.

God turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He “made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6, “They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7,

God is a common theme in the Old Testament, and it is connected with covenant allegiance to God. Faith in the Old Testament is understood as “faithfulness,” of “covenant loyalty,” of “unswerving allegiance” that is expressed in keeping the covenant stipulations (Sheriffs, DOTP 283–284). Furthermore, faith has “other expressions for covenant allegiance, such as ‘the fear of the Lord,’ ‘walking in the ways of Yahweh’ and ‘loving the Lord’ with all one’s heart and mind and soul and strength” (Sheriffs, DOTP 284).

1943: 410–411. “Only one fear can and should live in the hearts of Christ’s disciples, a deep-seated fear, an awe and reverence which ... stands in holy dread of Him that judges and condemns both soul and body in everlasting destruction” (Kretzmann 1922: 58).

2004: 1:484.

Green, 374.

(1865: 197) says: “literally: confess in with Philip Schaff commenting that [the in [en] “shows the ground or root of the confession, namely, a living union with Christ. He does not mean a mere outward confession of the mouth, but a genuine and consistent confession of the whole life.”

a separate occasion, Jesus communicated a parallel message to His disciples on the need to fear God and not men (Luke 12:4–7), and of confessing Him: “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8–9,

& Allison 2004: 167. “Matt 10:32–33 recapitulates 10:28’s exhortation to stand firm in the face of persecution” (Gregg 2006: 164). “In these verses, courage is to be sustained in the face of danger and death by the assurance that steadfastness will be rewarded and apostasy punished when they appear before the throne of God in heaven for judgment” (Beare 1982: 248).

“to express openly one’s allegiance to a ... person” (33.374). F&M 281: “making a public acknowledgment of allegiance confess, declare, BDAG 708, Davies & Allison 1991: 2:215, fn. 9).

1992: 179. Zimmerman says confession here is “a declaration of faith in Jesus” 249).

(1943: 413) says, “What a prospect to hear Jesus calling my name and confessing me as his very own before the Father, the hosts of angels, and men! Shall any persecution by men during these brief days make me forget that prospect?”

Stanley (2006: 247) sees an unmistakable link between the word hom*ologeō used in Matthew 7:23 and Jesus’ warning in Matthew 10:32–33. Thus, those denied by Jesus in 10:33 will not “enter the eschatological kingdom (cf. [Matt.] 25:12).” With both passages having an acknowledgment before Jesus, occurring on the Day of Judgment, and having one’s eternal destiny in view (heaven or hell), we agree with Alan Stanley’s conclusions.

2010: 273.

2010: 273. See the excellent and extended discussion of Matthew 7:21–24 by Alan Stanley (2006: 166–187, 328–329).

2010: 273.

is confirmed when we compare those “working lawlessness” in Matthew 7:23, with those “doing lawlessness” in Matthew 13:41, Jesus says that “at the end of the age” angels will gather up such people and “will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (13:42), but “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (13:43). Jesus said to the Pharisees, “on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:28, Jesus goes on to ask rhetorically, “How will you escape being condemned to hell (23:33, Of course, they will not escape hell if they remain as they are.

& Allison (1991: 2:216) rightly see Jesus’ confession in 10:32 as a “promise” that “sets forth the condition of entrance into the kingdom.”

1947: 215. Schlier, TDNT 1:470: “[deny] implies a previous relationship of obedience and fidelity. It can take place only where there has first been acknowledgment and commitment.”

2004: 207 n183. Osborne (2010: 403) says “[deny] means to renounce Christ and is language of apostasy” Oropeza 2011: 70). Cf. Hagner 1993: 1:288, “‘deny,’ means strongly to repudiate or disown and thus connotes apostasy (BAGD, 107). To reject Jesus is to be rejected by Jesus (cf. 7:23; 25:12) before his Father.”

2010: 403.

(2007a: 406) says, “The later experience of Peter (26:69–75) is an object lesson in denying Jesus under the pressure of public opinion, but Peter’s subsequent rehabilitation adds a reassuring suggestion that the stark verdict of this saying may be understood to refer to a settled course of acknowledgement or denial rather than to every temporary lapse under pressure.” So A. Stanley 2006: 247.

1962: 35; So Lenski 1943: 413, “[the] aorist tense sums up the life’s course of the one who denies.”

1993: 119.

idea of this sentence comes from Vanlaningham (2014: 1471):

The tense of the verb denies indicates that if a person’s life could be defined or summarized as a whole by the words, “He denied Me,” then that person can expect to be denied by Jesus. But that label does not fit Peter’s life. He surely denied Christ, but he repeatedly “confessed Christ” (Jn 21:15–17) thereafter. Jesus is not warning about an occasional lapse in one’s witness that is otherwise found in a life punctuated by outspoken identification with Him.

of human enemies implies lack of faith in Him, which may in turn lead to denial and thus to damnation” (Kretzmann 1922: 58). Jesus said the disciple who denies Him before men “through coward fear or shame” “shall be disowned by me in the great day, rejected with abhorrence, and exposed to everlasting shame and contempt for such base apostasy” (co*ke 1803: 1:113).

(2006: 165) writes:

Confession of Jesus before people at one’s earthly trial may result in the forfeiture of one’s earthly life, but it will also result in a positive verdict at the final judgment, when Jesus confesses one’s allegiance before God. The second strophe depicts the other possible outcome. If, during the trial before men, one denies Jesus in order to preserve one’s earthly life, then one will be condemned at the final judgment, with Jesus denying association with the unfaithful follower before God.

the unbelievers in the various cities will suffer a worse experience in hell than that of Sodom and Gomorrah for rejecting the Kingdom message proclaimed by Jesus’ apostles, then it necessarily follows that if an apostle of Jesus goes from being a believer to becoming an unbeliever who denies Jesus, then such an apostate would necessarily experience an even more severe punishment in hell on Judgment Day.

264, emphasis added. “To deny Christ is to commit apostasy and be eternally condemned” (Oropeza 2011: 70).

meaning of Jesus denying a person probably refers to being deprived of salvation (cf. 10:22)” (Vanlaningham 2014: 1471).

“Zeisius: Woe to all apostates” (Lange 1865: 397).

further support our interpretation that having Jesus confess one’s name before the Father does result in a person entering God’s future Kingdom, we could add these words from Jesus: “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. The one who overcomes [lit. “overcoming,” will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:4–5, The one overcoming (i.e., who keeps on being faithful to Jesus until death, Revelation 2:10–11) will be confessed by Jesus before the Father and His angels, and he will inherit or enter into God’s future Kingdom—the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21:7; cf. 22:14–15). The “unfaithful” and those who have “soiled their garments” wind up in the lake of fire—hell (Revelation 21:8) and shut out of God’s Kingdom/Holy City (Revelation 21:27; 22:15).

Stanley 2006: 244. The “whoever” in 10:32–33 confirms this understanding.

THIRTEEN

God Is Faithful

Know therefore that the your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9). “I will proclaim the name of the Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deuteronomy 32:3–4,

In his opening letter to the Christians in Corinth, Paul thanks God that Christ was confirmed among them, “so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm [“strengthen,” you [all] to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you [all] were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1Corinthians 1:7–9,

Later he writes in the midst of their struggles with temptations: “No temptation has overtaken you [all] that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you [all] be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you [all] may be able to endure it” (1Corinthians 10:13).

Paul’s prayer for believers in Thessalonica was, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you [all] completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you [all] is faithful; he will surely do it” (1Thessalonians 5:23–24). In Paul’s second letter to the church, he asks for their prayers that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and that he and his companions “may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you [all] and protect you from the evil one” (2Thessalonians 3:2–3,

The writer of Hebrews admonishes, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). Peter says, “Let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1Peter 4:19). John writes, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9).

That God is faithful to keep covenant with, to strengthen, to protect, to aid and forgive, and to present His covenant people blameless before Him on Christ’s return should be comforting to all Christians. But what if some of His covenant people stop trusting in their faithful God and in His faithful Son? What if some become unfaithful to Jesus and deny being relationally connected to Him? Are they still eternally secure and heading to heaven?

Maybe the most used passage to support “once saved, always saved” due to God’s faithfulness is penned by the apostle Paul:

The statement is trustworthy:

For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

If we endure, we will also reign with Him;

If we deny Him, He will also deny us;

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

(2Timothy 2:11–13,

Charles Stanley views this passage as teaching regardless of the consistency of our faith, our salvation is He sees four couplets, with the first referring to “our cocrucifixion with Christ” which means that “all believers have the potential to experience the abundant The second couplet refers to “the special reward for those who remain faithful through The third couplet reflects Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 10:32–33, and some commentators “have taken this as a reference to the possibility of Stanley thinks this is not accurate since “The context ... suggests that it is a repetition of the previous couplet, only in a negative form. In other words, just as the faithful will receive the Father’s recognition and approval, so the unfaithful will lose His special recognition and

Stanley goes on to interpret Paul’s fourth and final couplet as teaching that faithless means “unbelieving,” and thus, “Even if a believer for all practical purposes becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy. Christ will remain faithful” to usher the Christian unbeliever into His Kingdom, but “the unfaithful [Christian] will not receive a special place in the kingdom of Christ like those who are fortunate enough to be allowed to reign with

We agree that Christ always remains faithful, but Stanley interprets Paul as saying that Christ will remain faithful to save believers...

•who do not persevere (in faith) through persecutions for Christ,

•who deny Christ,

•who persist in being unfaithful to Christ.

For Stanley, a Christian’s salvation is secure after one moment of faith regardless of whether they “abandon their The only thing that a believer who “becomes an unbeliever” forfeits is some kind of “special reward” or “special recognition and approval” from Christ, and “a special place in the kingdom of Christ.”

Does Stanley accurately represent what Paul intended to communicate to his close friend Timothy, the pastor at Ephesus? We are convinced that Stanley has misinterpreted Paul and his whole train of thought in his second letter to Timothy.

Paul starts out his letter longing to see Timothy and warmly remembers his “sincere faith” (1:5), and reminds him “to fan his spiritual gift of evangelism (2Timothy 4:5) into full flame to do battle with the Ephesian opponents [i.e., false teachers]” Paul exhorts him to “not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in the suffering for the gospel by the power of God” Paul declares that the Savior, Jesus Christ, has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do” (1:10–12a). He then commands Timothy to “Be holding the pattern of healthy words [i.e., the Gospel] which you heard from me” and to “guard the good deposit” (i.e., the Gospel) entrusted to him through the indwelling Spirit (v.13–14,

Paul goes on to encourage Timothy to “be continually strengthened by the grace that is in Christ and to “entrust to faithful people” what he has heard from Paul so they can in turn “teach others” (2:1–2, Once again, Paul exhorts Timothy to “Share in suffering as a good soldier” in service to Christ Jesus (2:3), and then he proceeds in verses 4–6 to use three metaphors (soldier, athlete, farmer) to illustrate Timothy’s need to persevere in sharing and suffering for the Gospel. Paul then writes,

Be Jesus Christ having been raised from the dead, from the seed of David, according to my connection with which I am suffering-hardship to the point of imprisonment like a criminal. Nevertheless the Word of God has not been bound! For this reason, I am enduring all things for the sake of the chosen ones [“the in order that they also may salvation in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (2Timothy 2:8–10,

John Stott points out nicely

why Timothy must ‘remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David’. It is not just because these facts constitute the gospel which Timothy must preach, but because they also illustrate, from Jesus Christ’s own experience, the principle that death is the gateway to life and suffering the path to glory. For he who died and rose from the dead, and he who was born in lowliness as David’s seed is now reigning in glory on David’s throne. Both expressions set forth in embryonic form the contrast between humiliation and exaltation.

‘So then, Timothy,’ the apostle seems to be saying, ‘when you are tempted to avoid pain, humiliation, suffering or death in your ministry, remember Jesus Christ and think

Paul says he is “enduring all things,” which “in a context of suffering is perseverance in one’s faith in Christ despite persecution for that Paul perseveres through hardship and suffering for the sake of “the elect” (plural, “the collective community of that they may obtain the “final that is “in Christ Jesus” (i.e., in “union with Since Paul links perseverance in suffering for the Gospel with the goal that God’s people may experience final salvation in union with Christ, with eternal then it is highly unlikely that Timothy would have arrived at Charles Stanley’s idea just two verses later that Paul viewed “if we are enduring we will also reign-with Him” (v. 12, as referring to some kind of “special reward” that is separate from final salvation, and that Christians can forfeit by not persevering in faith but still make it into Furthermore, as Ben Witherington notes:

Second Timothy 2:10 suggests that Paul’s suffering, if borne faithfully to the end, provides a good witness to others and is done for the sake of the chosen ones, so that they too might be The implicit negative corollary is that if Paul had defected, surely that would have led to defections and apostasy by

Paul is concerned about the effect of the behavior of leaders on the flock, not least because of the false teachers in Ephesus. Thus there is all the more concern about Timothy’s behavior there as the “last Pauline man standing” ... In other words if the spiritual leader fails and falls short, the flock will likely do likewise. Seen in this light, 2Timothy 2:10 refers to Paul enduring so that he will not be a bad witness to the chosen ones, and they will persevere and go on to receive eschatological [i.e., future and final]

This faithful saying has four “if” clauses with believers’ actions that are followed by “then” clauses that describe Christ’s action taken in

Verse 11: For if we died with Him [Christ] aorist tense)

→ we will also live with Him (syzaō, future)

Verse 12: If we are enduring

→we will also reign with Him (symbasileuō,

If we deny Him future)

→He will also deny us (arneomai, future)

Verse 13: If we are being unfaithful present)

→He is remaining (menō, present) faithful (pistos)

for He is not able to deny Himself.

The “we” in this faithful saying applies first to Paul and Timothy, and then “equally to all The first two clauses are positive actions that believers should do, while the next two clauses present negative actions that “believers should not

The opening clause, “died with Him,” contextually refers “to sharing in the same sufferings which Christ endured, and whose highest point is to undergo This involves “our death to self and to as we take up the cross and follow Christ.... That this is the meaning in the hymn fragments seems plain from the fact that to ‘have died with Christ’ and to ‘endure’ are parallel “The aorist [tense] treats the act of dying as a single This death to pleasing and to personal safety for the Christ-follower is not a one-and-done event, but their “vocation,” as those who are “united with the Crucified ...embrace a life of trials and hardships” and potentially death

Does this future tense promise “live with” refer “solely to the eschatological (i.e., “eternal life with or does it include “the believer’s present experience ‘in It likely includes but as Towner argues:

With the thought of Christ’s vindication/resurrection in mind as a model for Timothy (v.8), the eschatological aspect of this promise is probably uppermost in mind, though this accent need not exclude the implicit understanding that present Christian living is “in union with Christ” in his death and

The next clause says “enduring” leads to “reigning with” Christ. To be enduring is absolutely and emphatically, under misfortunes and trial to hold fast to one’s faith in This persevering faith “is to be a normal way of for Timothy and other believers since “the present tense [verb] refers to continual

The future-tense meaning of “reigning with” Christ may seem unclear to some readers, but Timothy would not have missed the clear connection to future and final salvation being tied to Paul’s “enduring” in verse 10 as argued Therefore, reigning together with Christ cannot be less than experiencing final salvation with Christ, but it necessarily includes this and expands on what this final salvation involves for believers who (by faith) “keep on through various sufferings and persecutions for the sake of Christ and the For Christians to “reign together with” Christ means “to share in the ‘kingdom of God’ tou the traditional symbol of God’s eschatological [i.e., future and final] reign (see 4:1, 18), the focus of Jesus’ own preaching of the good news (see Mark

The next two clauses explore “the consequences of unwillingness to die with Christ and to endure hardship with him and for his Contrary to Charles Stanley’s assertion, the third clause is definitely a “warning against as many commentators and scholars have “Since the force of 2:1–7 is directed toward Timothy, he would also be included in the warning along with Paul and all

“If we deny Him, He will also deny us” is a parallel warning that Jesus gave to His disciples in Matthew 10:33 (cf. Luke 12:9). Both here and in Matthew 10, the context of denial stems from suffering and persecution for sharing the Gospel message for Christ. To deny Jesus “refers to Christian apostasy ... the personal repudiation of Jesus on the part of one who had previously been baptized and This denial of Christ is of the “permanent” kind for the consequent

denial by Christ ... is that future final evaluation which he will make to his Father (Mt. 10:33) in the presence of God’s angels (Lk. 12:9) when he returns in glory (cf. Lk. 9:26; Mk. 8:38; cf. also Mt. 7:23). The finality of his denial of those who have denied him will be as permanent as decisive as theirs has been of him, and will thus not be as in Peter’s case, where forgiveness was sought and

That Jesus will repudiate having “a personal relationship with ... a onetime believer who had repudiated him makes it quite clear that it is a reciprocal religious (faith) relationship that is being described and that that relationship is To deny Jesus is the opposite of enduring (persevering in faith) and “means the surrender of faith, ‘to and “such denial reverses On Judgment Day, Christ will deny being in a saving relationship with this former believer who has become an apostate (i.e., an

Now we come to the controversial last clause: “if we are [being] unfaithful [faithless, He [is remaining] faithful, for He is not able to deny Himself” (v.13). One view understands “If we deny Him” and “If we are being unfaithful/faithless” as parallel which requires that “He will deny us” and “He is remaining faithful” be parallel ideas, as Thus, for God to remain faithful “means carrying out his threats ... as well as his God will have to deny being in a relationship with those who are unfaithful to Him, because “if he did not deny us (in faithfulness to his plain warnings), he would then deny himself”—He would be acting contrary to His own character and will of “fulfilling his promises (whether of blessing or of

We agree with Witherington that this understanding “is not impossible, but less likely because this saying is meant in part to have the rhetorical effect of comforting and encouraging Paul’s teaching regarding God’s faithfulness “normally refers to his comforting and protecting his people rather than making sure he condemns unbelievers and wrongdoers among them” (cf. 1Corinthians 1:7–9; 10:13; 2Corinthians 1:18–20; 1Thessalonians 5:23–24; 2Thessalonians

Another view has Christ remaining faithful to save believers even if they have a “temporary” lapse of unfaithfulness/faithlessness that falls short of the apostasy mentioned in verse This is unlikely what Paul intended to communicate to Timothy for a couple of reasons. First, we agree with Oropeza (2012a: 281) when he writes:

[With this view] it is not clear how a boundary can be drawn between a believer’s faithlessness to Christ, which receives divine mercy, and a believer’s denying Christ, which does not. Unless a distinction similar to the Johannine “sin leading to death” and “sin not leading to death” is defensible here (cf. 1John 5:16–17), this meaning remains tenuous at

Hultgren (1984: 123) argues that such “a distinction will not stand” for those “commentators who want to draw a distinction between apostasy (overt, deliberate, decisive denial of Christ) and unfaithfulness (not being all that the Christian should be).”

The verb “to be unfaithful” does not signify lack of perfect fidelity (a shade of gray), but (in black/white terms) lack of fidelity pure and simple.... For a person standing on a “mountaintop” of religious experience and making a bold confession at Baptism there is the word of warning about possible apostasy leading to final judgment, which has significance for the believing community

Second, Paul is not talking about a “temporary” lapse of unfaithfulness or fidelity, since the verb tense for unfaithful present indicative) is identical to the “enduring” in verses 10 and 12. As Calvinist George Knight noted earlier in verse 12, “the present tense refers to continual but now he inconsistently says apisteō refers to “temporary rather than to continual Hiebert correctly states that apisteō “means to give up one’s and the present tense denotes this as the habitual attitude, not a temporary lapse ... of Therefore, whether a believer denies Jesus or continues being unfaithful to Him, both should be viewed as “the same act of betrayal, of Such denial and unfaithfulness are “actions likely to happen when pressure or persecution are brought to bear” on those who faithfully proclaim the Gospel message for Christ in a hostile world—“something known by Paul and Timothy in both past and present The view that we find most convincing argues that

Christ is faithful despite the unfaithfulness or apostasies that occur among his elect This outlook parallels thoughts about God’s faithfulness to his own nature, purposes, and covenant despite the unfaithfulness of his people (Rom 3:3–4; cf. Deut 32; 7:9; 23:19; 1QS 9.11). That Christ is faithful could mean that his purpose as savior will not be thwarted simply because some of his followers turn out to be unfaithful. Or it could mean that Christ will be faithful to preserve the elect community despite individual members who ruin their own faith, as did Hymenaeus and Alexander [1Tim. 1:18–20]. It could also suggest both nuances. The final words in 2Tim 2:13 ensure the believer that Christ is faithful to his divine mission of saving people and giving them eternal life. He cannot be untrue to his purpose (2Tim 1:9; Titus 1:2) or himself.... Thus no amount of suffering (2Tim 2:9), apostasy (2:12), or deception (2:14–26) the Christian church may face will ever change the fact that Christ will continue to save people. The elect church as a whole will survive to final salvation and inheriting God’s eschatological kingdom despite “some” defections that will take place in its midst before the culmination of the age comes (1Tim 4:1). Put differently, the unfaithfulness of the Christians who apostatize does not nullify Christ’s faithfulness and dependability to saving his church and adding to their number. Persecution from without and false teachings from within will not ultimately prevail against the elect community; the gospel of Christ and his church will

This view finds additional support when Paul warns Timothy about false teachers whose teaching produces spiritual gangrene and ungodliness (2:16–19) and has already led to “destroying the faith of some” Christians (v.18, Paul goes on to command Timothy: “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2Timothy 2:22,

In chapter 3:1–9, the false teachers are “implicated with the hypocritical pleasure seekers who commit numerous vices in the last Timothy is not to follow their way of life but Paul’s:

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith patience, love, endurance persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2Timothy 3:10–17,

Paul then admonishes Timothy:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound [“healthy,” doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship cf. 2:3], do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2Timothy 4:1–5,

Finally, what Paul has called Timothy to be faithful to carrying out in his ministry as a pastor, he has already been modeling in his ministry, and he is looking forward to receiving his reward.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith Now there is in store for the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for [or “loved,” his appearing. (2Timothy 4:6–8,

Towner (1994: 2007) writes:

A dominant image in Paul is the Christian life and ministry as athletic competition. His readers were very familiar with the Olympic-type games and the high degree of training, endurance and discipline, let alone skill, that were required of the victor. So it is not surprising that Paul reflects on the course of his life in this way. He has fought the good fight (or “competed in the games”—1Cor 9:25) that Timothy is still to fight (2:5; 1Tim 6:12; 1:18). He has finished the race (Acts 20:24; 1 Cor 9:24).

The last statement says plainly what the two metaphors imply: he has kept the

What does Paul mean that he has “kept the faith”? It could refer to:

(a)‘I have kept on believing’ (cf. Rev 2:13; 14:12), i.e. ‘I have kept my trust, remained faithful’ [see NLT]; (b)‘I have preserved the [Christian] faith intact’. Knight, 460, regards the first of these as primary and the second as secondary. Since v.8 is general in application and not confined to church leaders, this broad sense in probably

We agree with Knight (1992: 460) that while

Paul is saying that he has “persevered in the faith.” At the same time, in a letter warning Timothy about those who corrupt and turn aside from the truth (2:18, 25; 3:8), in which Paul specifically urges Timothy to retain the pattern of sound words (1:13), to guard the treasure [i.e., the gospel] (1:14), and to handle accurately the word of truth (2:15), and in which he has just warned about those who will not endure sound doctrine and will turn away from the truth (4:3–4), it is also likely that he would speak, as a model to Timothy, of having “kept” or “preserved” “the faith.” ... This sense of “keeping” in terms of faithfully proclaiming and preserving the faith does not rule out ... that Paul has “kept on believing,” and even necessarily includes it: Paul perseveres in that which he preserves (cf. 1Cor. 15:1–2).

Paul acknowledges that his death is close at hand, but since he has finished the race and kept on believing, he looks forward to receiving “the crown of righteousness.” Winners in the ancient athletic games received a literal crown or wreath made out of laurel, celery, or pine, but to what does this crown of righteousness refer?

The “crown of righteousness” is understood in two ways that are essentially overlapping: (a)“the crown that consists in final or (b)the crown “is eternal life itself” awarded for an “upright We are convinced that there are good reasons for holding to (a)over (b),but let us address common objections raised about (a).

Objection “Being awarded ‘final righteousness’ suggests ‘salvation by works,’ and we know that Paul taught that we are not saved by righteous deeds or good works, but by faith (cf. Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8–9). Therefore, this meaning is not in line with Paul’s theology elsewhere.”

This is not salvation by works, since Paul has just said he has kept the faith—kept on and faith is not considered a “work” by Paul (cf. Romans 4). Towner asks:

Does Paul now envision righteousness as something to be earned? No. But the athletic imagery implies the need for a life of faithful response on the part of Christians; God has given salvation and righteousness and along with them the responsibility to work out, implement and perform the new life in the power of the Holy

So, this is salvation by persevering faith that culminates in a final right standing with the Lord Jesus, the righteous Judge.

Objection “Since Paul elsewhere teaches that ‘righteousness’ (justification) is already a present possession of the Christian by faith in Christ (Romans 3:21–31; 5:1, 9), then ‘final righteousness’ does not make any sense in light of this.”

This objection misses the already/but not yet tension to which Paul and the rest of the New Testament writers Christians already possess the relational gifts of life and salvation through a faith-union with Him who is the Bread of Life and the Savior, but not yet Upon Christ’s return, believers will experience these spiritual realities in the fullest sense when they have been raised imperishable in a glorified resurrected body (like Christ’s) that is perfectly fit to inherit their imperishable inheritance—the Kingdom of God or the new heavens and new earth, where a righteous God dwells with His righteous people (1Corinthians 15:50; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21–22). Since life and salvation are viewed by Paul as both a present experience and a future hope, then it should not be difficult to see righteousness having “both a present and a future in Paul’s theology, as well.

Indeed, Paul refers to a future righteousness in his letter to the Christians in Galatia, where he already affirmed that one can be presently justified or righteous by faith in Christ (see Galatians 2–3):

For by [“through,” the Spirit, by we are the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision can-do anything [or “counts for anything,” but faith working through love (Galatians 5:5–6,

Douglas Moo (2013: 328) says Paul affirms in verse 5 “that our right standing with God is finally confirmed for us through the Spirit and by means of faith.” And since “righteousness here” most likely points “to a future dimension of justification,” we have Paul emphatically declaring “that faith is the means not only of entering into relationship with God, but also of maintaining that relationship and of confirming that relationship on the day of

Other commentators and scholars recognize that this final righteousness, or right standing with God, “is the object of future hope that believers are eagerly waiting for” by Put another way, this is simply referring to “the gift of final salvation” with

Notice that by faith is linked to eagerly-awaiting the future hope of Conceptually these words correspond well with our passage: kept the the future gift of righteousness awarded by Christ to those who are longing for/loving His appearing—i.e., “His second

Paul uses the verb eagerly-awaiting several times to describe the mindset that is to characterize Christians in light of a future-oriented To the Christians in Philippi and Rome, Paul writes:

For our place-of-citizenship is in the heavens, from where also we are eagerly-awaiting the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will transform the body of our lowliness so as to be similar-in-form to the body of His according-to the working that enables Him also to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20–21, emphasis added)

And if the Spirit of the One having raised Jesus from the dead is dwelling in you, the One having raised Christ from the dead will also give-life-to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling in you.... The Spirit Himself bears-witness-with our spirit that we are children of God! And if we are children, we are heirs also. We are heirs of God, and fellow-heirs of Christ, since we are suffering-with Him in order that we may also be glorified-with Him.... And not only creation, but also ourselves having the firstfruit of the Spirit—we ourselves also are groaning within ourselves while eagerly-awaiting adoption, the redemption of our For we were saved in hope. But hope being seen is not hope, for who hopes-for what he sees? But since we hope-for what we do not see, we are eagerly-awaiting it [i.e., the future redemption of our with endurance “perseverance,” (Romans 8:11, 16–17, 23–25, emphasis added; cf. 1Corinthians 15:21–58; Philippians 3:9–21)

This transformation and redemption of believers’ mortal bodies to be like Christ’s glorified resurrected body will occur through the power of the indwelling Spirit at the return of Christ. This represents final salvation with God. The writer of Hebrews affirms that eagerly-awaiting (by faith) Christ’s Second Coming “will result in the final salvation of “And just as it is destined for people to die once and after this comes the judgment, so also Christ, having been offered once so as to bear the sins of many, will appear for a second time without reference to sin to the ones eagerly-awaiting Him, for salvation (Hebrews 9:27–28, emphasis added).

This connection of eagerly-awaiting or longing for/loving Christ’s Second Coming helps to confirm our understanding that the “crown of righteousness” was intended by Paul to be understood as a metaphor for Christians being “crowned” with “final righteousness/salvation” on the day when Christ appears a second time from heaven. Towner (1994: 208) explains,

The award ceremony will take place on that the day of Christ’s return (1:12, 18). Thus the reward remains the object of hope. But Paul in his confident hope in God and in his faithful life and ministry provides a model for all believers. For the promise of God’s righteousness is a promise to all, with one have longed for his In this qualification several things become apparent. Paul describes a life lived in anticipation of Christ’s return. Christians are to be those who from the moment they learn of it live for the return of Christ. The false teaching had basically eliminated the need for Christ’s return, for it taught that the resurrection had already occurred and salvation was complete. As a result, those affected by such doctrines lived either in the past or only for the moment.

Many modern Christians living in comfort and economic security are equally confused. In reality salvation is yet to be completed; sin and evil are yet to be destroyed. Christians are to carry on a struggle against sin in the flesh in full awareness that the present experience is not complete but can indeed be one of growth and victory. This understanding of the need and significance of Christ’s return for God’s people will transform a believer’s life. Endurance, perseverance and faithfulness make perfect sense in the light of Christ’s future appearance. Paul’s life bore these marks, and his reward is sure. All who follow him may be assured of the same reward.

Because Paul has kept believing (remained faithful), he will metaphorically be “crowned” with the “the gift of final from the Lord Jesus upon His return, which is equivalent to Paul’s confident assertion: “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and save me into His heavenly kingdom” (2Timothy 4:18a,

Our conclusion regarding the “crown of righteousness” is given further support when we look at another use of crown imagery in the New Testament.

Do not be fearing at all the things which you are about to suffer. Behold—the devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested And you will have affliction for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let the one having an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The one overcoming will never be harmed by the second death. (Revelation 2:10–11,

Christ exhorts Christians in Smyrna to “Keep on being in the midst of “eschatological affliction, in which the devil makes special efforts to lead the faithful into They are to “Keep on proving faithful unto and He will give them “the crown of Commentators and Greek scholars tell us that the genitive is an “epexegetical [i.e., explanatory] that explains what the “crown” consists of. Thus, the meaning is “the ‘crown’ which consists in eternal This is not some sort of “heavenly reward” given in addition to eternal life with God as some suggest. The next verse makes this crystal clear when you compare the promises given to those who “keep on being faithful” with “the one overcoming/conquering.”

Keep on being faithful until receive the crown, which consists in life

The one never be harmed by the second death

Since this = “eternal is contrasted with “the second = “eternal its meaning can be nothing less than “eternal life, life in the coming Kingdom” that “Christ will give to those who are faithful” (Bratcher & Hatton 1993: 49). The ones overcoming or conquering are therefore Christians who remain faithful to Jesus under persecution even if it costs them their These faithful ones will receive eternal life and never wind up in hell, “the second death” (Revelation 20:14; 21:8). Like the crown of the crown of life “symbolizes the gift of final salvation” with

The contrast between the eternal destinies of the faithful and the unfaithful are placed before John’s readers near the end of the book.

The person who overcomes [i.e., the one who keeps on being faithful to Jesus until death, 2:10] will inherit these I will be his God, and he will be my son. But people who are cowardly, unfaithful detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:7–8,

Thomas and Macchia write:

This is no ordinary list of sinners. Each of the categories found here appears to represent groups of believers who have succumbed to temptations that kept them from being faithful until the end as overcomers, for almost all of these categories have a special meaning that derives from Revelation itself. This list has the effect of a warning to Johannine believers not to lose their way and stop short of offering faithful witness to the

The term “cowardly,” which would be taken as an antonym of “overcomer” in this context, would have ... more to do with the lack of courage to offer faithful witness in following the Lamb wherever he might go, specifically to By saving one’s life before the threats of the beast and his false prophet, these cowardly in point of fact lose their lives. Giving in to the fear of suffering and death, they are unable to join those in Smyrna (2:10) and Pergamum (2:13–15) in offering faithful witness. The term “unfaithful” ... stands with the first in identifying those Christians who, owing to their fear of the beast and/or the seduction of the great whor*, are unable to offer the faithful witness that reflects their Lord and his

Christians who become unfaithful are who stopped trusting in Jesus and “turned their backs on Jesus warned His disciples that those servants of His who go from being faithful to unfaithful will share in the same destiny as the (Luke 12:35–46; cf. Matthew 24:42–51). John likewise warns Christ-followers that if they become unfaithful, then they will experience “‘the second death’ (2:11), that is, exclusion from participation in God’s final kingdom” (Revelation If Christ-followers desire to be with Jesus in the new heavens and new earth and reign with Him as His servants (Revelation 22:3–5), then “they must persevere in Michael Gorman (2011: 117) agrees:

And by “conquer,” Revelation means remaining faithful, even to death, in order to experience glorious, everlasting life with God, the Lamb, and all the redeemed in God’s new heaven and earth.

If that sounds like what some Christians (especially certain Protestants) label “works righteousness,” it is time for us to stop worrying about this concern and start realizing the serious call to covenant faithfulness in the Scriptures, including Revelation.... That is, salvation in the New Testament is as much about faithfulness (fidelity) as it is about faith (assent and trust).

This is not, however, “works righteousness,” for we do not earn our salvation—the Lamb did that for us by his death. The question becomes, rather, what exactly salvation is, and the book of Revelation, like the rest of the New Testament, make it clear that salvation consists in a faithful covenantal relationship with God and others made possible by the death of Christ, the activity of the Spirit, and the encouragement of other faithful witnesses, living and dead.

In other words, according to Revelation, we have been redeemed from a culture of death by the death of the Lamb for faithfulness to death—all of which is, paradoxically, life itself. It is also victory itself. It is conquering the temptation to give up or give in, even in the face of all that the culture of death can do.

We affirm that God is faithful to His covenant people, but we asked at the beginning of this chapter: “What if some of His covenant people stop trusting in their faithful God and in His faithful Son? What if some become unfaithful to Jesus and deny being relationally connected to Him? Are they still eternally secure and heading to heaven?” Charles Stanley said, “Yes,” based on his interpretation of 2Timothy 2:11–13. However, when we examined this passage contextually, and in 2 Timothy as a whole, we arrived at the opposite conclusion. Furthermore, we looked at additional teachings from Paul and other New Testament writers that supported our conclusion that persevering in faith is connected to loving/longing for or eagerly awaiting Christ’s return and involves remaining faithful to Him during various temptations, hardships, persecutions, and even martyrdom if one hopes to experience final salvation with God and His people in the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21–22).

the New Testament passages cited, when the “you” is plural, we will insert [all] to highlight that the author is speaking to Christians collectively.

Stanley 1990: 92, emphasis in original.

Stanley 1990: 93, 94.

Stanley 1990: 93.

Stanley 1990: 93. Stanley’s interpretation follows the thinking of other moderate Calvinists such as Zane Hodges (1989: 112, 221 fn. 4); Joseph Dillow (1992: 427–430); Charles Ryrie (1989: 140–142); and Norman Geisler (1999: 120).

Stanley 1990: 94.

Mounce 2000: 475.

Mounce (2000: 479) says verse 8 “is the thesis statement of 2 Tim 1:3–2:13 as it calls for loyalty to Christ and the gospel as well as for loyalty to Paul himself.”

by W. Mounce 2000: 499.

(2010: 249) notes: “‘Remember’ ... is a present active imperative—a command to remember and to keep remembering!”

“gospel,”

Greek, hupomenō is a present-indicative verb, referring to “ongoing endurance” (Fiore 2009: 151).

(2012a: 286) writes:

The hope for the elect in 2:10 is not referring to the salvation of those of humankind who, though presently not saved, have been preselected by God and will eventually obtain salvation whenever God decides to call them. For our author, those who he considers elect already believe, but they must persevere in hope until the eschaton takes place [i.e., at the return of Christ]. At the very end of his life, “Paul” anticipates his own final salvation (4:18), and he desires that the elect would also persevere until the end of their lives and obtain final salvation (2:10).

verb used here, ‘obtain,’ has the sense of receiving something that is out of one’s own reach and is thus a gift, and as such can describe the receipt of salvation from a future perspective (cf. Luke 20:35; Heb 11:35)” (Towner 1992: 505).

2161: “In the Christians sense, sōtēria is deliverance from sin and its spiritual consequences and admission to eternal life with blessedness in the kingdom of Christ” Robinson 706). Thayer 612: the sum of benefits and blessings which Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.” Unfortunately, Thayer places 2 Timothy 2:10 with definition (b.) “salvation as the present possession of all true Christians,” rather than with (c.) above. We affirm that all believers presently enjoy salvation in a faith-union with the Savior Jesus Christ, “but Paul is thinking of the final consummation of that salvation at the return of Christ with the resultant ‘eternal glory’ for the saved” (Hiebert 1958: 60–61).

1973: 62. “In order to arouse the courage of faith, Paul has been directing attention to the resurrection of Christ and to His own example” (Huther 1885: 230).

2014: 63. So Thayer 644. This obtaining of final salvation in Christ Jesus is for “all those, and only those, who perseveringly believe in him” (co*ke 1803: 2:604).

2012a: 284. Paul “recognized a corporate group whom he calls ‘the elect ones’” (Klein 1990: 183). “Paul has appropriated OT language for God’s people and applied it to Christian believers” (Fee 1988: 247).

2012a: 286. So Towner 2006: 505; Outlaw 1990: 324; Klein 1990: 183. Also referred to as “future salvation” (Marshall 1999: 738; cf. Huther 1885: 230); “eschatological salvation” (Witherington 2006: 334; Fee 1988: 248; Collins 2002: 225; Schelkle, EDNT 3:327–328); or the “fullness of salvation that will be theirs at the consummation of God’s kingdom” (W. Mounce 2000: 515). So Quinn & Wacker 1999: 647.

1990: 324. So Gloer 2010: 251. Kelly 1963: 178, “united with Christ”; Lenski 1937: 790, “in connection with Christ”; Quinn & Wacker 1999: 648, “in the faith-relation to the person of Jesus the Messiah-King.”

implication, Timothy, too, should endure suffering, thereby helping others” (Spencer 2014: 63).

the Old Testament, the glory of God is the presence of God. It is this glory toward which Paul points, the glory of dwelling in the presence of God eternally” (Gloer 2010: 251). “The final phrase with eternal glory envisages the consummation of Christian Salvation. This linking of glory with salvation is familiar in Paul’s writings (e.g. 2 Thes. 2:13, 14; cf. Rom. 5:1, 2, 8:21–25), while the idea of suffering giving way to eternal glory is clearly brought out in 2Corinthians 4:17” (Guthrie 2007: 144). So Outlaw 1990: 324; Kelly 1963: 178–179; W. Mounce 2000: 515; Huther 1885: 230.

(1990: 183) rightly states:

Paul speaks here of the “final salvation” attained only after a life of faithfulness to Christ. The author stresses this point in the saying that follows in 2:11–13 (note the conditional uses of [if]). Living and reigning with Christ depend upon faithfulness to Christ in this life. So in 2:10 Paul envisions his own suffering as a model and inspiration for the elect who, by following his example, will attain final salvation—to live and reign with Christ. Paul sounds an urgent call for faithfulness and endurance on the part of the elect (just as Peter did: “Make your calling and election sure” [2 Peter 1:10]).

views ‘the elect’] as ‘God’s people’ for whom he willingly endures whatever afflictions he must to ensure that they receive the constant attention and effective teaching of God’s word they need to remain faithful from start to finish” (Towner 2006: 505).

(2017: 623) says “ministerial faithlessness in the face of suffering could inspire others to abandon the faith and thus lose their future salvation.” All ministers of the gospel “must endure all things” and “must remain steadfast and not apostatize or give up, lest his converts see this and be tempted to give up as well” and fail to “attain salvation in Christ Jesus on the Last Day” (Farley 2008: 115–116).

2006: 334.

am following the translation by A. Chadwick Thornhill except for his last line: “for He is not able to disregard Himself.” We prefer “deny,” over “disregard” since it is the same Greek word found in v. 12b.

tense of endure is present, suggesting continuing action: ‘if we continue to endure,’ ‘if we persist in enduring’” (Arichea & Hatton 1996: 203). So Witherington 2006: 332; Earle 1978: 401; Zehr 2010: 180.

are three verbs that begin with sun (“together with”): synapothnēskō (“die together with”), syzaō (“live together with”), and (“reign together with”). These verbs “complement Paul’s central imperative to Timothy: to ‘suffer together with’ 1:8; 2:3) [him for the gospel]” (Spencer 2014: 64).

1973: 63. So Lenski 1937: 794; Bratcher 1983: 80; Arichea & Hatton 1996: 202; Gloer 2010: 252. The “we” in these sayings therefore rules out the interpretive option of saying denying Christ and being unfaithful to Him refers to those “who were never saved to begin with,” as some would argue.

1999: 733.

1885: 231. To have died with Christ is to be “vitally united to him in death, or if called to die for his cause, as he died for us” (co*ke 1803: 2:604).

1973: 6.

2014: 64.

death to living life to please self is brought out in 2:3–4, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (emphasis added).

1963: 180. Jesus said in Luke 9:23–24 (His “recruiting speech,” J. Green 1997: 374), that if anyone wanted to become one of His followers, they must first deny self and then daily engage in and finally, “keep on following Jesus” (J. Green 1997: 373) in saying “‘No’ to self,” (Williams) and to “imitate Jesus and willingly subject themselves to shame [and suffering] ... to follow God’s will” (Garland 2011: 396).

2006: 509.

684. So Bratcher 1983: 80; Spencer 2014: 64. “[T]he future life that will be given at the appearance of the Lord and that is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (2:8; see Rom. 6:5–11; 2Corinthians 4:14; 1 Thess. 4:14–17)” (Collins 2002: 227; cf. Huther 1885: 231). Arichea & Hatton (1996: 202) see “live with” connected to “verse 10, that is, the experience of eternal glory in the presence of Christ.” co*ke (1803: 2:604) sees “will live” = “raised up to immortal life and glory.”

2006: 509.

Abbott-Smith 428: “of life in union with Christ, here and hereafter, Rom 6:8, 2 Tim 2:11.” Marshall 1999: 740: “future life with Christ in glory, but the thought of present life in union with Christ is also implied.” Quinn & Wacker 1999: 651: “the life of the resurrection. The believer’s present life in Christ can thus be inseparably united with the life to come (thus Bultmann, TDNT 2.869).”

2006: 509–510.

644. Thayer lists the following passages that apply to this definition: Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13; 2 Timothy 2:12; James 5:11; Romans 12:12. This perseverance in faith is contextually connected to suffering for Jesus’ sake and the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:8–14; 2:1–3, 8–10; 4:5; cf. Matthew 10:18, 22) Knight 1992: 405).

2006: 510.

1992: 404, emphasis added. This condition of enduring points to “the importance of ongoing faithfulness” in order to obtain the future promise (Towner 2006: 511).

enduring/persevering in verse 10 is identical to the enduring/persevering in verse 11 (a present-tense indicative verb).

2006: 510; Earle 1978: 401. Spencer 2014: 64, “keep persevering.”

causal connection between perseverance in the present age of suffering and the future attainment of salvation is expressly stated in 2 Tm. 2:12” (Hauck, TDNT 4:587). “We may also think of the connection between perseverance and final salvation in the saying of Jesus in Matthew 24:13: ‘The one who has endured to the end, this one will be saved’” (Witherington 2006: 332–333).

2002: 227; So Hultgren 1984: 122–123; Gloer 2010: 253. This understanding is confirmed when we look at Revelation 21–22, where the rule and reign of God comes in all its fullness. All the blessings that go with being with God and His people in the new heaven and new earth are given to the ones overcoming (i.e., those who are faithful to Jesus to the point of death, cf. Revelation 2:10–11). The ones overcoming (21:7) are referred to as God’s “servants,” who “will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (22:3–4). It is they who “will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). Thus, reigning with Christ is not a special privilege reserved for only some Christians, but the privilege that all persevering Christians will share in the new heaven and new earth. Knight (1979: 122) rightly connects Revelation 22:5 with 2 Timothy 2:12, “the promised ruling with Christ in view of 2 Timothy 2:12 is a ruling of Christians together with him in his eschatological consummation kingdom which shall never end.”

1999: 740.

1999: 732, 733.

Witherington 2006: 205, 334; Oropeza 2012a: 279; Farley 2008: 116. Fee 1988: 253; W. Mounce 2000: 502, 515; Towner 2006: 512; Bratcher 1983: 80; Hultgren 1984: 123. Riesenfeld 1947: 214–215; Quinn & Wacker 1999: 652; Arichea & Hatton 1996: 203. Trebilco, Cardus, & Rae 2009: 65.

Mounce 2000: 517.

& Wacker 1999: 652. They go on to write: “Just how one goes about this repudiation is not at this point specified—whether in words or deeds or both.... The point here is that the believer’s denial in whatever form is met by the Lord’s denial on a day to come, and here this brief poetic line condenses the whole logion of Matt 10:33; Luke 12:9” (Quinn & Wacker 1999: 652). Stein (1990: 277) says “the act of denial ... is a repudiation of our faith [in Jesus].”

Lenski 1937: 795; Hiebert 1958: 63–64.

1992: 406. Commentators consistently take this denial to occur at the last judgment.

& Wacker 1999: 652.

1947: 215. “The first deny is intended to be the opposite of endure and refers to apostasy, or the act of repudiating or disowning Christ in the midst of persecution and suffering” (Arichea & Hatton 1996: 203).

2012a: 280.

(1990: 275) says, “Such questions as to whether a true Christian can ever deny Christ or whether believers will always persevere in their faith are not in the mind of the author.” We would conclude just the opposite. Paul is addressing such questions in a straight forward manner and affirming that not all Christians will persevere in their faith. Indeed, some Christians will, in unbelief, deny being relationally connected to Christ. As Zehr 2010: 181 states, “If it is not possible to disown faith in Christ, there is no need for these words. The possibility of Timothy and others disowning the faith is real.”

(1958: 63) says “the second pair asserts the solemn warning that denial and unfaithfulness just as surely separate men from Christ.”

1973: 64; Hiebert 1958: 64.

1979: 260; cf. Stott 1973: 64. “[God will be] faithful to his warning that the unbelieving will be rejected” (Hiebert 1958: 64).

1973: 64–65. So Hiebert 1958: 64.

2006: 333.

2012a: 282.

Knight 1992: 406–407; W. Mounce 2000: 518–519; Stein 1990: 275–278.

Simpson 2017: 207.

1984: 123.

1992: 404, emphasis added.

1992: 407.

Oropeza 2012a: 281, “‘if we are faithless’ refers to believers losing faith.”

1958: 64.

1983: 80. We disagree with Marshall 1999: 741 that unfaithfulness “is not as strong as ‘deny.’” We side with Arichea & Hatton 1996: 203 in seeing unfaithfulness as being “parallel to ‘deny’ in the previous verse, since to disown Christ is equivalent to being unfaithful to him.” Unfaithfulness and deny should be seen as being equivalent to one another since to deny Christ (abandoning one’s faith allegiance to Christ) and unfaithfulness (giving up one’s faith in Christ) are the opposite of enduring (holding fast to one’s faith in Christ in the midst of hardship and suffering, vv. 10, 12a). Furthermore, we have already discovered that Christians who deny their Master Jesus (2 Peter 2:1ff.), or who are unfaithful to Him (Luke 12:42–46), will wind up in hell in company with the unfaithful (Revelation 21:8), not heaven minus heavenly rewards.

2006: 332.

2012a: 281–282. Similarly, Zehr (2010: 183) writes: “Christ, who is God in human flesh, possesses God’s character of faithfulness. Despite the apostasy and faithlessness of some Christians, Christ remains faithful to his cause and to his church. He cannot be untrue to his own nature. When Christians suffer hardship, they can be assured that the Lord is faithful to the gospel.”

present-tense verb for destroying “indicates that this was actually happening at the time the letter was being written.... Some refers to members of the church, hence, ‘some Christians,’ ‘some believers.’ Another way to express this sentence is ‘and are causing some people to stop believing in Christ’” (Arichea & Hatton 1996: 209–210). See chapter 26 for a more detailed discussion of 2 Timothy 2:16–19.

2012a: 265.

644: “the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.”

(2009: 205) says this turning away from the truth to myths implies “that what was involved was apostasy from the faith.” So Trebilco, Cardus, & Rae 2009: 118.

“laid up for me.”

1999: 808.

2006: 370. Marshall 1999: 808, “a crown consisting of righteous.” Grundmann, TDNT 7:629, “final justification.” Towner 1994: 207, “complete righteousness.” Köstenberger 2006: 595, “full righteousness.” Knight 1992: 461, “the crown, namely, righteousness,” which “refers to the permanent and perfect ‘state of righteousness’ (G. Schrenk, 2:210) into which the Christian is brought by God” (cf. Huther 1885: 268). In Greek, the genitive phrase “crown of is taken here as being a genitive of apposition, also called an epexegetical (i.e., explanatory) genitive. The genitive explains what the noun “crown” consists of. We find this epexegetical phrase parallel with other New Testament crown/wreath imagery: “crown of [eternal] (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10); and “crown of [eternal] (1 Peter 5:4; cf. 1:6–9; 4:12–14) Knight 1992: 461; Huther 1885: 268). “Furthermore, in 1 Cor. 9:25 the adjectival qualification ‘imperishable’ is used in the same way: To receive an imperishable wreath is to receive imperishability” (Knight 1992: 461).

Mounce 1979: 152; Kelly 1963: 209–210.

1994: 207–208. To experience final salvation with God “demands the response of loyalty, faithfulness under pressure, the testimony of the believer, and the obedient life lived according to God’s will” (Young 2004: 58). Grundmann 7:629) says “the presupposition of receiving it [‘the crown of righteousness’] is faithfulness to Christ which is grounded in His appearing and which works itself out in love for this [appearing].”

Fee 1988: 290.

1998: 175. “One receives the final crown of righteousness precisely because one has already received righteousness in Christ” (Fee 1988: 290, emphasis added).

(1891: 311) writes:

The Apostle is always true to the order of thought here indicated. Faith saves from first to The present righteousness and future glory of the sons of God alike have their source in faith. The act of reliance by which the initial justification of the sinner was attained, now becomes the habit of the soul, the channel by which its life is fed, rooting itself ever more deeply into Christ and absorbing more completely the virtue of His death and heavenly life. (emphasis added)

verb eagerly-awaiting here and in Romans 8:23, 25; Philippians 3:20; and Hebrews 9:28 is put in the living present-tense participle form. Cosgrove 1988: 153 explains: “As in Romans 8:25, this ‘waiting’ means obedient living for the future and not merely ‘expectation’ by itself. Verse 6 specifies this ‘ethical waiting in the Spirit’ as ‘faith working through love’ and implies that ‘faith working through love’ is what ‘counts’ ... not simply in a general sense but in the specific sense of ‘for justification.’ ...Ethical life in the Spirit forms the basis for future righteousness (justification); [and] present righteousness (right living)....”

(2013: 327) notes that verses 5 and 6 bring together closely related topics found in the letter: “righteousness, faith, and the Spirit as the means by which that righteousness is attained and maintained, and love as the expression and embodiment of faith (cf. de Boer 2001:315).”

2013: 329.

Kwon 2004: 67. “The hope that believers await is the final verdict of righteousness” (Schreiner 2010: 316). “Paul’s focus here is the future righteousness which is ours when God completes his work in us by his Spirit” (Hanson 1994: 157; So Cosgrove 1988: 153; Gorman 2017: 261; Taylor 2004: 88; Pifer 2019: 206, fn. 130). McKnight 1995: 251, fn. 15 and Kwon 2004: 63 have “future justification.” Witherington (1998: 370–371) sees “final justification,” or “right standing with God that only God can grant at the last judgment” Vanhoye & Williamson 2019: 176–177). “Clearly expressed here is the ‘future tense’ of justification—to be justified/counted acceptable to God, not simply as an initial act (conversion), but as a sustained relationship with God culminating in the favourable verdict of the final judgment” (Dunn 1993: 269–270; So Garlington 2007: 302). Mayer, EDNT 1:439, “definitive and completed righteousness.” Bauer, EBT 378, “ultimate justification.” Alford 1897: 53, “full” and “perfect righteousness.”

2004: 67; Mayer, EDNT 1:439. “The transformed people of God await final salvation by faith ([Gal.] 5:5)” (Taylor 2004: 107).

1885: 269, who is quoting Matthies. “The perfect tense for the Greek participle ‘have longed’ suggest that those in mind had loved Jesus’ appearing in the past and continued to do so up until the moment of reward” (Lea & Griffin 1992: 249). “‘Love’ is expressed in the perfect tense (in the Greek), suggesting: ‘those who have loved and still do love his appearing’” (Outlaw 1990: 356).

gives thanks for the Christians at Corinth and says they “are not lacking in any gift eagerly-awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7, Paul personifies creation as waiting “in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed” [i.e., to be liberated from their bondage of decay via the redemption of their body, vv. 18 ff.] (8:19,

431: “to cause to live, make alive, give life esp. in a transcendent sense.” Link, NIDNTT 2:481, “Christ’s resurrection is the pledge of our own future resurrection to an eternal life where death and all the imperfections of the present creation will be things of the past (Rom. 8:18 ff.).”

1993: 488. So co*ckerill 2012: 426; Schreiner 2015: 288.

612: the sum of benefits and blessings which Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God” BDAG 986; Abbott-Smith 437). Robinson 706: “Specifically in the Christian sense, deliverance from punishment and misery as the consequence of sin, and admission to eternal life and happiness in the kingdom of Christ the Savior” Strong’s 2161).

2009: 161. Travis rightly sees “the gift of final salvation” applying to the “imperishable” crown (1 Corinthians 9:25); the “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8); the “crown of glory” (1Peter 5:4); and the “crown of life” (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).

982, #2: “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, save/preserve from eternal death fr[om] judgment, and fr[om] all that might lead to such death, e.g., sin, also in a positive sense bring Messianic salvation, bring to Thayer 610. Cf. Strong’s 2161; Robinson 704; Bloomfield 429).

is talking about “eternal salvation,” that “is ultimately described as entry into ‘his heavenly kingdom,’ that is, into the domain of the Lord’s rule.” This is the “future consummation” and final “manifestation of the Lord’s full authority and rule. As in 4:1” (Towner 2006: 647; cf. Fee 1988: 298; Knight 1992: 472; Marshall 1999: 825–826).

498: “to try or test one’s faith.”

present participle” nikaō is “lit. ‘the one who is conquering’” (Smalley 2005: 64).

is a present imperative. Thus, a better translation would be: “Keep on being faithful” (Lenski 1935: 98, cf. Robertson, WP 6:303); “Continue to be faithful” (Thomas & Macchia 2016: 97); “Continue being faithful” (ALT3). Cf. “Remain faithful”

EBT 905.

WP 6:303.

Aune 1997: 1:167; Zerwick 1963: 16–17.

1963: 17. So Smalley 2005: 67; Reasoner 2005: 179, 181. Most see the crown of life = eternal Aune 1997: 1:167; Beale 1999: 244; Coffman 1984: 12:55; Ford 1975: 67; Kretzmann 1922: 596; Ladd 1972: 45; Layman 1981: 237–238; R. Mounce 1997: 8–9; Morris 1987: 64; Reddish 2001: 57; Schreiner 2023: 139; Wall 1991: 73; Williamson 2015: 67; Witherington 2003: 101; “resurrection to life ... in God’s presence” (Koester 2014: 281; cf. Duvall 2014: 49); “eternal salvation” (Roloff 1993: 49; Prigent 2001: 169).

320; Bloomfield 171; Hemer, NIDNTT 1:406; Mounce’s 148–149; CBL-GED 13:36; Davids, EDT 288; Rea, WBD 407; cf. BDAG 430–431; Thayer 273–274; Abbott-Smith 196–197.

443; Abbott-Smith 202; Robinson 329; cf. Strong’s 2086; Bloomfield 175; Thayer 283. Others rightly note that thanatos entails “eternal separation from God” (Mounce’s 161; Renn 245; Strong’s 2086); and “exclusion” or “rejection from the kingdom of God” (Bloomfield 175; Mounce’s 161; Strong’s 2086; Robinson 329). Representative of the majority of commentators is Düsterdieck (1887: 140), “The second death designates eternal damnation in hell.”

book of Revelation calls “all [Christians] to faithfulness, which is what it means to conquer (Rev 2:11)” (Koester (2014: 281). “The crown of life, eternal life itself, is the reward of grace assigned to the triumph of faith, to the loyalty of the believer” (Kretzmann 1922: 596). Overcoming “denotes the victory of a steadfast life of faith over the temptations and trials indicated, and over all adverse things in general” (Lange 1874: 117). The overcomer or victor “designates nothing else than the faithful perseverance of believers, as maintained in the struggle with all godless and antichristian powers.... [The victor is one who is] abiding faithful [to the Lord] ... to the end, maintaining and adhering to the words and commands of the Lord” (Düsterdieck 1887: 136).

1991: 113. So Travis 2009: 161.

things” refers to believers dwelling with God in the new heavens and new earth, where pain, mourning, and death are no more (see 21:1–6).

“unfaithful.” “According to Bengel and Ewald: Apostates from the faith” (Lange 1874: 364).

Smalley 2005: 542–543; R. Mounce 1997: 386–387; Reddish 2001: 404–405.

2014: 800, “cowardice in Revelation means relinquishing one’s faith in the battle against evil 1:301).”

& Macchia 2016: 370. “[Faithlessness] is the opposite of faith, which includes loyalty to God and Christ (Rev 2:10; 17:14). If Jesus (1:5; 3:14; 19:11) and Antipas (2:13) are faithful and resist evil, the faithless are the opposite (2 Cor 6:14–15; Tit 1:15; Luke 12:46)” (Koester 2014: 800–801).

& Hatton 1993: 301. So Smalley 2005: 543; Mounce 1997: 386; Skaggs & Benham 2009: 219; Bloomfield 34.

& Hatton 1993: 301.

2001: 57.

2001: 405. This final “salvation” spoken of in Revelation 21:1–7, “is sure to persevering faith” (Stier 1859: 220).

FOURTEEN

The Seal of the Spirit

After Jesus was placed in the tomb, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate for help because they were concerned that His disciples might steal the body of their Lord and proclaim that He had been raised from the dead. They said to Pilate, “This last deception will be worst than the first” (Matthew 27:64, Pilate told them to “‘Take a guard, Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard” (Matthew 27:65–66,

While the guards at the tomb would have been the greater deterrent to graverobbers, the seal would have served as one as well. After the guard inspected the tomb and rolled the stone in place, a cord was stretched across the rock. This was fastened at either end with sealing clay. Then the guard would have pressed the official ring of the Roman governor into the clay. This Roman seal was a public testimony that Jesus’ body was actually there, and it verified that His body was being protected by nothing less than the power and authority of the Roman Empire. Anyone trying to remove the stone from the tomb’s entrance would have broken the seal and incurred the wrath of

Of course, neither the power of Rome nor death itself could prevent Jesus from bursting forth from the tomb bodily in resurrection power. The seal was broken, the guards went AWOL, and the disciples saw their resurrected Lord.

Seals were broken in the ancient world, but what about the seal of the Spirit? Does the seal of the Spirit support once saved, always saved, as is so often argued? Or is this a misunderstanding of the seal of the Spirit?

The seal of the Spirit is obviously unlike physical seals, since it involves the indwelling presence of the Spirit in our lives, the third Person of the blessed Trinity. Paul says to the believers at Corinth:

[God] also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment (2Corinthians 1:22, emphasis added)

For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens. For in this earthly house we groan, because we desire to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked. For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment (2Corinthians 5:1–5, emphasis added)

It is God who has “sealed us” with the Spirit. The seal carries the idea of “marking Believers “belong to God as God’s God has also given His children the Spirit as the down This word “comes from the world of legal documents and may also be rendered ‘first installment.’ It was a down payment that created obligations and guaranteed that more would be What is forthcoming for believers indwelt with the Spirit is this very purpose: one day our mortal bodies will be clothed with “life”—resurrection life in immortal bodies (2Corinthians 5:1–5; cf. 1Corinthians 15:21–54; Romans 8:11, Paul further explains the forthcoming blessings of being indwelt with the Spirit in Ephesians:

And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy who is the down payment of our until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13–14, emphasis added)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30,

The Holy Spirit is the official seal of God’s ownership, and the believer’s God-given down payment of his promised future (i.e., “to live eternally in heaven in the presence of and redemption as a son and heir of Wonderful!

But there is more: the Spirit is continually at work in believers to bring to consummation all that is within the perfect will of God for all His sons and daughters in Christ. The gracious Comforter has been sent by the Father to dwell within us and to abide with us forever, instructing, encouraging, and guiding us along our pilgrim way to the Father’s house.

Blessed and manifold are His ministries on our behalf. He has come to teach us all things (John 14:26); to empower us in our witness for Christ (John 15:26–27, Acts 1:8); to guide us into all truth and show us things to come and the things of Christ (John 16:13); to direct us in our service (Acts 13:2); to fulfill the righteousness of the law in us (Romans 8:4); to bear witness to our sonship (8:16); to help our infirmities and to make intercession for us (8:26); to reveal to us something of the glory of the things God has prepared for those who love Him (1Corinthians 2:9 ff.); to impart His gifts to empower us for effective service (1 Corinthians 12:1 ff.); to bring forth in us His gracious fruit of Christlikeness (Galatians 5:22 ff.); and ultimately, to give life to our mortal bodies at the coming of Jesus (Romans 8:11, 17–25). Gracious are all His many ministries on our behalf.

But the Holy Spirit can do nothing for those who refuse His ministry. Therefore, we find both exhortations and warnings directed to believers who are indwelt by the Spirit. Believers are exhorted to “stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18, to “be walking by the Spirit” so that they will not “fulfill the desire of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16ff., Believers are then warned that those “practicing” the works of the “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21, warned that “the one sowing to his own flesh from the flesh will reap corruption, but the one sowing to the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:8, warned that “if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13, and further warned not to “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30) or insult “the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29). All these solemn exhortations and warnings affirm that the believer has a definite personal responsibility with respect to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which he dare not ignore.

But to assume that the Holy Spirit must remain united with every person in whom He once takes up residence, regardless of how that person subsequently responds to His ministry of guidance and reproof, is to ignore many grave warnings in the Scriptures, especially the one Jesus gave about failing to remain in union with Him in John 15.

We have earlier declared that throughout his earthly sojourn, the relation of the believer to Christ is never a static relationship existing as the irrevocable consequence of a past decision, act, or experience. Rather, it is a living relationship—a present, mutual indwelling of the believer and the Savior, the sharing of a common life that emanates from Him “who is our life.” For the believer, it is a living union proceeding upon a living faith in a living Savior. The foundation principle governing the relationship is reduced to its simplest statement in our Savior’s words: “Remain in me, and I in you” (John 15:4, The believer’s relation to the Holy Spirit cannot be dissociated from his relation to Christ; it is one and the same. The relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Christian is likewise not static and indissoluble.

Just as believers received the Spirit after they placed their initial faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:13), Paul expects believers, and himself, to continue to “stand by faith” (Romans 5:2); “live by faith” (Galatians 2:20; 3:11; Romans 1:17); and “walk by faith” (2Corinthians 5:7). Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is that God “may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians He admonishes them to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). This involves taking up “the shield of faith,” “the helmet of salvation,” and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance” (Ephesians 6:16–18).

There is no question that the indwelling Spirit enables and inspires prayer and faith in believers to strengthen them to persevere in their saving union with God. But nothing in these exhortations suggests that the Spirit does this Paul expects those indwelt by the Spirit to live by faith as God’s holy people reflecting the presence of the Spirit who is Himself holy. Paul says, “I ... urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1), and he goes on to exhort:

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:17–32)

Paul “is no doubt attempting to distance his readers from their former These exhortations serve as a “preventative maintenance plan to discourage Christ-followers from practicing former vices associated with their Christ-followers are to walk in accordance to “the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (v.24). However, as Oropeza (2012a: 238) notes: “If the believers succumb to vices, this would cause the Spirit that fosters sanctification, unity, fellowship, and peace among believers to be grieved (Ephesians 4:30; cf. 4:4; 5:18–21). For Christians to walk contrary to God’s Spirit is to behave in a manner incompatible with their new identity.”

It is likely that the background to “grieving the Spirit” is Isaiah

In his love and in his pity he redeemed them [i.e., the people of Israel]; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them (vv. 9b–10).

Witherington (2007: 301–302) states:

It could hardly be clearer that the subject here is apostasy of the redeemed and God’s Spirit being grieved and so responding to their rebellion with ... When a Christian sins, it most certainly affects his or her spiritual life, doing spiritual damage. ... Paul wants his audience to remember that whenever they are acting, the Spirit dwells in them and is affected by their behavior. One must always ask: Is this course of action what the Spirit would lead or prompt me to do?

Though one has been sealed in the Spirit (cf. 2Corinthians 1:21–22 and Ephesians 1:13–14) “for the day of redemption” Paul does not rule out something such as willful apostasy breaking that seal. The main concepts conveyed by the metaphor of the seal are authentication and ownership: believers have been marked by and belong to God. There may be a secondary sense of protection, but, as anyone in antiquity knew, a seal could certainly be broken, whether a seal on a vessel or a seal on a document. “Redemption” here is seen as something future, not already fully accomplished....

When it comes even to the people of God, the Scriptures are clear—one is eternally secure only when one is securely in eternity. Short of that, grieving the Spirit, [and] committing apostasy ... are possible for the believer ... The concept of sealing here then must be balanced by the concept of grieving, and a notion of an unconditional protection or guarantee should not be read into the “sealing”

It would not have taken Paul’s readers long to discover that if they persisted in such sinful behavior that grieved the Spirit of God, then they would be putting their saving relationship with God in jeopardy. For Paul goes on to admonish believers to be walking in love, holiness, and purity:

Therefore be imitators of as beloved children. And be in love, just as Christ also loved us and handed Himself over for us—an offering and a sacrifice to God for an aroma of fragrance. But let and all impurity or greed not even be named among you, as is proper for saints—and filthiness and foolish-talk or which are not fitting, but rather thanksgiving. For you know that every sexually-immoral or impure or greedy person (that is, an idolater) does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience [“the children of disobedience,” Therefore do not be fellow-partakers with them. For you were formerly [or “once,” darkness, but now you are light in the Be as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), approving what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not be participating in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even be exposing them. (Ephesians 5:1–11,

Certainly Paul’s warning to believers against being fellow-partakers with unbelievers (“sons of disobedience”—i.e., “those who lives are characterized by is a warning against participating in their worldly pattern of living and “unfruitful works of darkness.” “The reason they should not act like unbelievers is because unbelievers are not going to inherit the kingdom of Christ and This “inheritance” was first mentioned in Ephesians 1:14 as referring to the believer’s “future “eternally in heaven in the presence of Those who lives are characterized by disobedience to God’s moral law (as manifested in their immorality, impurity, greed, will not be spending eternity with God in His final Kingdom (also called “a new heaven and a new earth” [Revelation Paul is warning the children of God that they must not persist in behaving like the children of disobedience or else they will become children of disobedience and share in their same destiny: shut out of the Father and Son’s and falling under God’s wrath (cf. John 3:36; Romans 1:18–2:8; 1Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21; Colossians 3:5–6; Revelation 21:8; 27; The unbeliever’s final destiny will be hell, not Paul is clearly concerned “with the danger to faith inherent in falling back into the pagan

Paul’s command, “Let no one deceive you with empty words” (Ephesians 5:6), is another warning to the Ephesians against allowing themselves to be deceived by those who would “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality” (Jude 4, It does not matter if these “empty words” (“words without any basis in fact or come from someone within the Church or outside of the Church, they must not be followed because a person’s eternal destiny is at Robert Picirilli provides a cogent summary of Paul’s message:

We must walk in love, as children of God’s love, thus manifesting His family character in our own lives. We therefore, should be emulators of Him. He loved us to make us His children. Christ loved us to die for us as a sacrifice that brought God’s pleasure on us. Then we, too, must walk in self-sacrificing love. Such a walk will avoid the love-perverting and love-destroying ways of those who lives are characteristically disobedient to God. Sexual immorality, all forms of moral impurity, greed—the Christian community must never let such sins be identified among them; they are not fitting for people who are holy. Shameless speech (or conduct), talk that reveals the folly of sinful thinking, and even the course jesting that sinners find amusing are unseemly for Christians. Their speech should be characterized by gratitude to God. The ways of such sinners lead to death. They will not inherit the kingdom of God that is ruled by Christ. No words to the contrary should be tolerated, they are the empty words of fools. Those whose lives are characterized by disobedience to God’s revealed will are the objects of His eschatological wrath. Therefore Christians must not participate with them in their way of life, lest they [become an unbeliever and] participate with them in their

Picirilli’s conclusion accurately represents what Paul intended to communicate to his original readers. No wonder Paul goes on to further exhort the Ephesians: “Therefore be watching carefully how you walk—not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. For this reason, do not be foolish ones, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15–17, Paul then commands them:

Stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit. Then you will recite to one another psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; you will sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts; you will consistently give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah; and you will submit to one another out of reverence for the Messiah. (Ephesians 5:18–21,

This continual filling of the Spirit

carries with it the idea of being a corporate community in unison with the divine presence and operating under the full capacity of godly virtues (Eph 4:2–3, 22–32; 5:19–21; cf. Gal 5:22). An abundance of love, gratitude, and thanksgiving that comes from the heart, together with edifying others by spiritual songs and submitting to one another, will countermand hurtful and venomous words that damage fellow saints and disrupt intimate fellowship (Eph 5:18–21; cf. 4:25, 29, 29, 31–32;

God’s people can and must live holy lives in community with one another through God’s empowering presence. The Holy Spirit dwells in and among God’s holy people, and He is the “seal” and “down payment” of their future inheritance in God’s Kingdom. Yet, if they, as children of light, persist in living like the children of darkness, they will eventually become one of them and suffer God’s wrath and be excluded from “final with God in His eternal

We find a similar warning in Paul’s first letter to the Christians in They have received the Spirit as a seal and a down payment (2Corinthians 1:22; 5:5), yet they are engaging in sinful behavior that is causing divisions and destroying the spiritual well-being of the There is little doubt that their sinning was grieving the Spirit of God.

In 1Corinthians 6:1–11, we find a “sharp warning” from Paul “where the believing community is explicitly A Christian brother is taking another Christian brother to court before unjust/unrighteous judges, and this is being witnessed by other unbelievers as well. This “sickens Paul for a number of reasons, not least because of the shame this brings upon the community After using “several different rhetorical tools to dissuade the Corinthians from this behavior, Paul turns in verses 8–10 to charge and threat, followed immediately, however, by a word of assurance (v.11), which serves not to dull the threat, but to encourage

If any of you has a legal dispute against another, do you dare go to court before the unrighteous and not before the Or don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases? Don’t you know that we will judge angels—not to mention ordinary matters? So if you have cases pertaining to this life, do you select those who have no standing in the church to judge? I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between his brothers? Instead, believer goes to court against and that before Therefore, to have legal disputes against one another is already a moral failure for you. Why not rather put up with Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you act unjustly and cheat—and you do this to Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Do not be No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing hom*osexuality [“males who have sex with males,” cf. no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were you were you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1Corinthians 6:1–11, emphasis added)

First, notice the parallel warning (“Do not be deceived”) and judgment (“will not inherit God’s kingdom”) found also in Ephesians Second, notice the intentional wording that Paul uses to tie his teaching and warning The saints vv. 1, 2), are taking one another to court over petty issues before unjust v.1) judges. Instead of putting up with injustice v.7), they act unjustly v.8) and a fellow brother in court before unbelievers They know full well that the unjust v.9) will not inherit the Kingdom of

David Garland says that Paul’s designation of the judges being the adikos (“the unrighteous,” “may simply mean that they are not Christians, since the word stands in opposition to ‘the saints,’ and is synonymous with ... unbelievers) in However, Garland goes on to say, “In a Christian context, this designation may characterize their status before God as the ‘unjustified,’ as opposed to the believers, who are ‘justified’

We are convinced that this meaning of adikos (unjust, unjustified) is indeed what Paul intended in this Alistair Scott May agrees and argues that adikos “is not simply a designation of the outsider (one who is but it also carries ethical connotations (one who is These judges are being presented as members of a group that is inherently and stereotypically Of course, no one in their right mind would ever want to have their case tried before an unjust judge. Such judges lack the key moral quality valued for rendering a just judgment in legal In short, Paul is saying, “If you want justice, don’t go to the

For Paul, it is not only shameful but foolish for believers to be taking one another to court before unjustified/unjust judges. Furthermore, believers who are presently acting like the unjustified in taking another believer to court must “desist lest they share the fate and status of the and be barred from entering God’s future Kingdom. This “grave warning” is threatened to bring about a prompt “change in

Paul affirms that the believers in Corinth used to be numbered among the unclean, the unsanctified, the unjustified, but now they are numbered among those who have been and justified in the name of Jesus, and by the Spirit of God (v.11). However, even though God has freed them from their bondage to sin through the work of Christ and the Spirit, they cannot go back to living like the unbeliever (the the or else they will eventually become an unbeliever who will not inherit or enter into God’s Gordon Fee (1987: 242) says,

This is of course refers to the eschatological [i.e., future and final] consummation of the kingdom that is “not yet,” just as the same phrase in 4:20 referred to the kingdom as it is “already” being realized in the present The failure of the wicked or unjust/unjustified] to “inherit the kingdom of God” is the other side of their being judged in v.2; this is what that judgment leads to. Paul’s point in all this it to warn “the saints,” not only the man who has wronged his brother, but the whole community, that if they persist in the same evils as the “wicked” [“unjust/unjustifed”] they are in the same danger of not inheriting the Some theologies have great difficulty with such warnings, implying that they are essentially hypothetical since God’s children cannot be “disinherited.” But such a theology fails to take seriously the genuine tension of texts like this one. The warning is real; the wicked [unjust/unjustified] will not inherit the kingdom. That first of all applies to the “unsaved.” Paul’s concern is that the Corinthians must “stop deceiving themselves” or “allowing themselves to be deceived.” By persisting in the same behavior as those already destined for judgment they are placing themselves in the very real danger of that same judgment. If it were not so, then the warning is no warning at

Paul is warning Christians in Corinth about a very real danger, but Paul goes on in verse 11 to invite “them to change their behavior by reminding them that they do indeed belong to God through the gracious work of Christ and the Here we find an implied imperative: “Therefore, live out this new life in Christ and the Spirit and stop acting like the

We can see from the warning passages in Ephesians and Corinthians that Paul “certainly believes that behavior affects eternal destiny. Grossly immoral behavior by a Christian, if insisted upon and persisted in, will result in the perpetrator committing moral apostasy [i.e., becoming an unbeliever] and being disallowed from entering or obtaining the kingdom in the future (see 1Corinthians 6:9–11; cf. Galatians In short, they wind up in hell (Revelation

With these warnings, Paul rejects the idea that Christians are “once sealed, always sealed,” “once sanctified, always sanctified,” or “once justified, always justified.” Paul expects those who have been sealed with the Spirit, and sanctified and justified by the Spirit, to live out their new life in Christ by faith expressing itself in love through the Spirit’s When believers revert to living like they did before they had the Spirit, they grieve the Spirit and wreak havoc in the Christian community that is to be characterized by love for one another. Paul warns believers that if they go on acting just like unbelievers toward one another, they are in danger of committing apostasy (becoming an unbeliever) and being excluded from entering into God’s future and final Kingdom.

Christians would be wise to follow Paul’s admonishment not to allow anyone to deceive them into thinking that Christians can be living like unbelievers and still be assured of spending eternity with God and His people on Judgment

a marble tablet (24 inches by 15 inches, dated to the early reign of Emperor Claudius, 41–54 A.D.) called the “Nazareth Inscription,” contains a warning to graverobbers. It was written in Greek and here is a small portion of the inscription:

Edict of Caesar. It is my decision [concerning] graves and tombs ... that these remain undisturbed forever.... You are absolutely not to allow anyone to move [those who have been entombed]. But if [someone does], I wish that [violator] to suffer capital punishment under the title of tomb-breaker. (Translation from Clyde E. Billington, obtained at http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2009/07/22/The-Nazareth-Inscription-Proof-of-the-Resurrection-of-Christ.aspx#Article)

1999: 106.

134: “payment of part of a purchase price in advance, first installment, deposit, down payment,

1999: 106.

gift of the Spirit [in 1 Cor. 5:5] ... is the guarantee of coming immortality” (Bruce 1984: 266). So Garland 1999: 260–263; Picirilli 1987: 318–320. Another word that Paul “uses to express the same thought is ‘first fruits’: in Rom. 8:23 the Spirit is the ‘first fruits’ of the eagerly awaited ‘adoption, the redemption of our bodies,’ where the resurrection of the people of Christ at his parousia is meant” (Bruce 1984: 266).

should note that the Greek text literally reads: “you were sealed with the Spirit of promise, the Holy.” As Picirilli (1988: 141) states, “we should not miss the fact that ‘holy’ is more than a name. It is an indication of His character: He is the holy Spirit, and his indwelling makes us ‘holy’ (that is, ‘saints’). His presence also requires holiness from us.”

inheritance here is nothing other than eternal blessedness in the consummated kingdom of God which is to be expected after the visible return of (Thayer 349, with the following verses that fit this definition: Galatians 3:18; Colossians 3:24; Hebrews 9:15; 1Peter 1:4; Ephesians 1:14). Cf. BDAG 548: salvation (as the inheritance of God’s children).” Thayer (349) has Acts 20:32 and Ephesians 5:5 as share [or inheritance] that an individual will have in that eternal It should be noted that Ephesians 5:5 specifies those who will not have an inheritance in God’s kingdom, i.e., the sons of disobedience. The implication is that the children of God will have an inheritance in God’s future Kingdom.

(2003: 32) says our inheritance here is “the inheritance of future salvation (1 Cor 6:9, 10; 15:50; Ga 5:21),” of which “all Christians (v. 14) have yet to enter on their full inheritance of salvation.” “[Inheritance] means a place in God’s final kingdom, when God has fully reclaimed this world” (G. Thompson 1967: 38; So Osborne 2017: 32).

2002: 243.

(1984: 266) notes that the indwelling Spirit assures believers:

That the glory of the life to come, promised in the gospel, is a well-founded hope, a reality and not an illusion. The word “inheritance” is used in this chapter both of God’s portion in his people (vv. 11, 18) and of the everlasting portion which he has reserved for them. They can enter into the enjoyment of this everlasting portion here and now by the ministry of the Spirit. Redemption is already theirs through the sacrifice and death of Christ (v. 7), but one aspect of that redemption remains to be realized. On the day of resurrection God will “redeem” his own possession [Eph. 4:30], and the evidence of his commitment to do so is given in his “sealing” that possession with the Spirit.

works of flesh are evident: sexual-immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, rages, selfish-interests, dissentions, factions, envy, drunkenness, revelries, and the things like these” (Galatians 5:19–21).

415:

The verb katoikeō means “to inhabit, live, dwell,” with an emphasis on living in a place for some time, perhaps even permanently. It is comprised of two parts: kata meaning “down,” and meaning “to make a home in.” The first part of the word, adds a sense of permanence, just as “down” does in the English phrase “to settle down.” ... There are [literal uses and] also spiritual uses of Demons can “take up residence” in a person (Mt. 12:45). Christ can live in a person as well, as when Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians that “Christ settle down permanently in [their] hearts through faith” (Eph 3:17).

with Christ begins at conversion but is “in need of daily growth and strengthening, for it is through faith that Christ dwells in the heart, and the loss of faith” would mean “the loss of Christ” (Kretzmann 1921: 274–275). Thus, “It is as the Christian keeps trusting (‘through faith’) that Christ continues to indwell. No static condition is in view here but a maintained experience” (Wood 1978: 51). Of significance “the duration designated by dwell] is bound up with the continual renewal of faith (J. Gnilka, Eph [HTKNT] 184)” (Fendrich, EDNT 2:274; So Benson 1856: 314). Here we find “the importance everywhere given to faith in the theology of Paul as a means of salvation” (Beet 1890: 324). Claybrook (2003: 169–170) writes:

Paul utters these powerful words as part of his magisterial prayer for the Ephesian believers (Ephesians 3:14–21). They reinforce that all power to please God is given to us by God himself through Christ and his Spirit, and thus we have no cause of pride even when we have saving faith and do the good deeds he has set before us to do Eph. 2:8–10).

Paul uses an unusual word in this prayer if he had thought that believers, once saved, could never lose the indwelling of Christ. The word Paul uses for “dwell,” refers to a permanent dwelling ... .

While not addressing the subject of apostasy directly, the very fact that Paul prays that God will strengthen the believers so that Christ will dwell permanently in their hearts through faith suggest that it is not a foregone conclusion that Christ will continue to reside there in all circ*mstances and under all conditions.... The implication is that it is possible for their walk with Christ to weaken and even for their faith to fail, in which event Christ will no longer dwell with them.

Claybrook’s observations are right on target, especially when we read the strong warning Paul gives to the children of God (believers) about being sure not to live like the children of disobedience (unbelievers) lest they become one of them and share in their destiny (see our discussion of Ephesians 5:1–11 that follows).

2012a: 237.

2012a: 238. The specific vices they are to “put off” are: sensuality all kinds of impurity greed deceitful desires falsehood sin stealing corrupting talk bitterness anger wrath clamor slander and malice Such vices (vicedoers) and the judgments for those practicing them are found in other New Testament warning passages directed at believers: 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–6; Colossians 3:5–11; Revelation 21:8, 27; 22:15. “[T]he Apostle has warned the Christians against vices which are apt to seep into the Christian’s life and against which he must constantly fight and which he must never cease to put off more and more if he is to remain a Christian” (Stoeckhardt 1952: 227).

Witherington 2007: 301.

Oropeza (2012a: 238) who writes:

Now that the Gentile Christians have become God’s people along with the Jews (Eph 2:11–22), a plausible inference derived from the Isaianic background may be that a persistence in grieving the Spirit can lead ultimately to community divisions, apostasy, and divine This inference is strengthened by the fact that elsewhere in Pauline literature a member’s disregard for God’s Spirit is tantamount to rejecting God (1 Thess. 4:8).

Oropeza 2012a: 229, “[The ‘seal’ in] Ephesians does not provide an unconditional guarantee for the individuals final salvation. Paul could affirm both the hope of final salvation and the potential for individuals to commit apostasy.”

brings out the present imperative for being imitators of God in his translation: “So you must keep on following God’s example.”

present imperative conveys ... ‘make this your habit’” (Hoehner 2002: 646). We see “be walking in love” as equivalent to “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

(2015: 552) notes:

Here refers to any sexual practice that is illicit, that falls outside God’s mandated order of celibacy outside marriage and of fidelity within marriage (the lifelong union of one man and one woman). In the context of pagan worship and particularly in Ephesus (with its temple of Artimis and other fertility goddesses), prostitution or orgies may be foremost in Paul’s mind.

who translate this ‘dirty jokes,’ or ‘vulgar conversation’ are not far off the mark. Both terms are probably intended to describe discussions of a sexual nature” (Osborne 2017: 163).

(2015: 555) says the addition of “knowing” after “you know” “is redundant ... which adds emphasis: ‘know this with certainty.’ It adds gravity to Paul’s ensuing warning, paralleling his solemn testimony in 4:17.”

(2017: 164–165) writes:

Most statements regarding inheritance, like the one in 1 Corinthians 6:9, are in the future tense, but this one is in the present: such a person right no inheritance.” It is a present reality that he [the unbeliever] has no part in God’s kingdom.... With the coming of Christ the kingdom arrived in this world, and we [believers] are now kingdom people. At the same time ... [this kingdom] will arrive with finality at Christ’s second coming. We realize our inheritance now in terms of the power of the Spirit and authority over the evil powers (3:10; 6:10–12), but we have not yet received our final inheritance. Paul is saying that those who live in sin are deprived of both the present and future manifestations of the kingdom.

Christians addressed are described as having formerly been not merely in darkness, but darkness itself, during their years of paganism; through faith-union with Christ, however, they have become light in Him” (Bruce 1961: 105).

again repeats the command ‘to walk’ (4:1, 17; 5:2). The imperative is in the present tense to denote a habitual conduct for those who are children of light” (Hoehner 2002: 671). “The metaphor of ‘walking’ ... in biblical usage includes the entire life of faith, confession, and obedience to God’s Word...” (Winger 2015: 561).

1988: 219. “In the Bible, ‘son of,’ or ‘children of’ language usually means that the characteristic is a defining quality of their life” (Osborne 2017: 166).

2002: 659.

2003: 32.

2002: 243.

(2002: 660) notes:

Here [in v. 5], the three nouns described the person who commit the acts mentioned in verse 3.... [The “or”] distinguishes each particular class of people although some person may be characterized by more than one quality. However, even if a person is characterized by only one of these qualities, he or she still has no inheritance. This is not to say that a believer might not fall into one of these sins, but rather this concerns the person who is characterized by one or more of these sins. [cf. Best 2003: 247]

agree with John Stott (1979: 197) when he writes:

We must be cautious, however, in our application of this severe statement [i.e., “does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God”]. It should not be understood as teaching that even a single immoral thought, word or deed is enough to disqualify us from heaven; otherwise, which of us would ever qualify for admission? No; for those who fall into such sins through weakness, but afterwards repent in shame and humility, there is forgiveness. The immoral or impure person envisaged here is one who has given himself up without shame or penitence to this way of life....

Paul does not want a child of God to persist in unrepentant sin because in doing so they will no longer be characterized as a son or daughter of God walking in sacrificial love, but as sons and daughters of disobedience characterized by sinful lust and having no inheritance in God’s present and future Kingdom.

F. Bruce (1961: 103) rightly discredits a popular interpretation promoted by Moderate Calvinists regarding “does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ” (Ephesians 5:5), and its equivalent “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; Galatians 5:21): “The idea that Paul means that such people may be true Christians even so, but that their behavior will debar them from any part or lot in a future millennial reign of Christ, is totally unwarranted by the context and by the New Testament teaching in general.” Not only is there nothing in Ephesians that even hints at a future millennial reign of Christ, but this view is far removed from how the early Christian writers understood “the kingdom of God,” and decidedly against the present scholarly consensus.

Stott (1979: 198) says that Paul is addressing Christians with “this warning about the danger of forfeiting our inheritance in God’s kingdom.... The apostle gives us a solemn warning; we shall be wise to heed it.”

1:370–371) rightly says “exclusion from the kingdom of God (Lk 13:28; 1 Cor 6:9f; Gal 5:19–21; Eph 5:5;...)” is the “ultimate punishment” of “hell.” This is nothing less than a warning of “eternal damnation” (Stoeckhardt 1952: 229).

2015: 556. Engaging in the same kinds of sins of pagan unbelievers “cannot coexist with saving faith” (Winger 2015: 557).

2015: 558.

Osborne 2017: 165. Findlay (1898: 322) writes: “‘Do not,’ the apostle entreats, ‘cast in your lot again with the unclean and covetous. Their ways you have renounced, and their doom you have exchanged for the heritage of the saints. Let no vain words deceive you into supposing that you may keep your new inheritance, and yet return to your old sins.... Walk as children of the light, and you will possess the eternal kingdom.’”

1988: 219–220. “The danger of forfeiting our inheritance in God’s kingdom is a real one for ‘those who are disobedient,’ that is, those who know God’s moral law and willfully disobey it. ‘Therefore, do not be partners with them’ (5:7), lest you share in their doom” (Adams & Stamps 1999: 1072; So Kretzmann 1922: 284). Claybrook (2003: 165) writes: “If a believer reverts to a life dedicated to sin, he, too, is a ‘son of disobedience’ (Ephesians 5:6, lit.). He has become a ‘partner’ or ‘partaker’ with all the other sons of disobedience, and they [as unbelievers] will jointly partake of God’s wrath in hell.” Best (2004: 250) says, “It would seem that some of those who have been chosen in Christ, foreordained for adoption and now sit with Christ in the heavenlies may at some point in the future [become unbelievers and] be excluded from the heavenlies and lose their election and adoption.” The Christians in Ephesus were once children of “darkness” (v. 7), but now are “children of light” (v. 8). However, if they go back to “participating in the unfruitful works of darkness,” they will become children of darkness (or “sons of disobedience” v. 6) and be excluded from the Kingdom of God and Christ Oropeza 2012a: 238).

2012a: 236–237.

1959: 70; Picirilli 1988: 218.

theologically, and pastorally, this pericope [i.e., Eph. 5:3–14] serves as a warning against returning to the deeds of the old life that would deny the Ephesian Christians the blessed enjoyment of God’s presence” (Winger 2015: 575).

Corinthian congregation was mostly comprised of Gentiles who were formerly idolaters but had converted to Paul’s message seven years earlier (1 Cor 12:2; cf. 8:7; Acts 18:1–18)” (Oropeza 2012a: 67).

1 Corinthians 1:10–17; 1:18–2:16; 3:1–17; 5:1–13; 6:1–20; 8:1–11:1; 11:19–34; 15:33–34.

1999: 244, 245.

1999: 245.

literally, “but brother is going-to-court against brother”

“brothers”

“will not inherit the kingdom of God” “The people of God frequently have trouble recognizing that injustice is as serious a sin as incest and other sexual misconduct and that it warrants the very same punishment (cf. Jer. 7:8–15)” (Garland 2003a: 211).

better translation would be “Stop deceiving yourselves” since it “brings out the force of the present imperative, which prohibits action already happening” (Lockwood 2000: 196; cf. “Stop deceiving yourselves!”).

the definitive scholarly treatment of this verse and others in the Old and New Testaments regarding hom*osexuality, see the exceptional work done by Robert Gagnon in The Bible and hom*osexual Practice: Tests and See also Marriage, Scripture, and the Church: Theological Discernment on the Questions of Same-Sex Union by Darrin W. Snyder Belousek.

5 contains a list of vices and vicedoers, whereas 1 Corinthians 6 contains just a list of vicedoers. Of course, they are considered vicedoers because they engage in these vices.

is more evident in the Greek than English since Paul intentionally uses δικ in vv. 1, 7, 8, 9, 11 (see above). Gordon Fee (1987: 246, fn. 32) alerted us to the “word play” going on here. We used the HCSB translation because it does the best job of bringing out this word connection in English.

cheat in this context refers to “robbing ... someone out of what is rightfully his/hers” (Fee 1987: 241).

(2003a: 197) writes: “Evidence indicates that the civil courts of this era were less than impartial and that substantial corruption did exist.” Judges and juries who pronounced verdicts “were open to bribery and biased toward the powerful” (Garland 2003a: 197). Of course, this gave the wealthy, with their power and influence, an unfair advantage over the poor—who “always had the cards stacked against them in the courtroom.... This background lends support to the conclusion that Paul is not simply exasperated that any Christian would take a case involving a [Christian] brother to nonbelieving judges but that they would take it to those biased in favor of the rich and powerful” (Garland 2003a: 197).

readers would have understood “will not inherit (1 Cor. 6:9, 10) to mean that the unrighteous/unjustified or unbeliever will not enter the future Kingdom, where God dwells with His people throughout eternity after the return of Christ. This is certain since Paul later describes this Kingdom as “imperishable” (15:50), and those presently clothed in a perishable flesh and blood body “cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” Only those in union with Christ (15:21) will be resurrected to life at the return of Christ and instantly be clothed with an “imperishable” and glorified body that is required to inherit/enter God’s imperishable Kingdom and final inheritance (15:21 ff.; cf. 1Peter 1:3–9; Revelation 21–22).

2003a: 195.

2003a: 195, emphasis added. Garland adds,

Lightfoot (1895: 210) contends that Paul chose this word ‘because of the alliteration’ [in v. 1, between the unjust and the (ἀδίκων, adikōn / ἁγίων, and because ‘it enhances the incongruity of the whole action of seeking justice at the hands of the unjust’ (an irony not lost on Chrysostom, 1 16.4). Paul ... by choosing to call these judges ‘the unjust’ he does more than identify them as non-Christians. In the context, which refers to these persons serving as judges in a dispute, this term would seem to offer a moral appraisal of them (2003a: 195–196).

course, this meaning of adikos (unjust, unjustified) should be reflected in our Bible translations for this passage.

2004: 84, emphasis added. N.T. Wright (2004: 63) says these judges “are actually by definition, because they have not been ‘justified’ by God” (verse 1; 1.30).

2004: 84.

2004: 64.

2004: 90.

2004: 89–90.

Wilson 2017: 71, 74. It should be noted that Wilson does not believe that it is possible for believers to actually become unbelievers (commit apostasy).

Schnabel 2015: 2336, inherit the kingdom of God. Enter God’s new world in the future consummation (see Gal 5:21; Eph 5:5).” “The kingdom of God is here the eschatological age following the resurrection (15:50). This is the inheritance of those in Christ; but it is a kingdom which the immoral will not enter” (Craig 1953: 72).

vice list, which marks the behavior of the unjust, contains an implicit warning: Do not commit these sins lest you lose your inheritance [in behaving like the unjust]” (Garland 2003a: 194). “Paul was clearly concerned that believers might return to former patterns of sinful practices, including same-sex intercourse, practices that could lead to loss of salvation” (Gagnon 2001: 288). “Here [in 1 Cor. 6:9–10] is a clear indication that Paul does not have an ‘eternal security’ view of individual salvation” (Schenck 2006: 92).

(2017: 69) states that the majority of commentators (especially German) interpret Paul as warning believers in Corinth involved in lawsuits (6:1–11), and having sex with prostitutes (6:12–20), that if they persist in their sinful ways, they will forfeit having any place (inheritance) in God’s future and final Kingdom. Wilson agrees with this view and sees this as “the most natural reading of the passage” (70), and he goes on to conclude: “In this chapter, Paul is very concerned to warn believers away from doing things which would compromise their eternal salvation” (74).

1987: 242.

Fee 1987: 245.

2010: 620. So Claybrook 2003: 161–167.

EBT 1:370–371, rightly says “exclusion from the kingdom of God (Lk 13:28; 1 Cor 6:9f; Gal 5:19–21; Eph 5:5;...)” expresses the “ultimate punishment” of “hell.”

Free Grace adherents are telling Christians that they can unrepentantly persist in living like unbelievers and yet be fully assured of spending eternity in heaven.

FIFTEEN

Apostasy: What Is It? Who Can Commit It?

That the Scriptures warn people against the peril of apostasy, no one will deny. There is serious disagreement, however, about who can become guilty of apostasy and what apostasy entails. Many have assumed that apostasy is possible only for those who have never actually entered into a saving relationship with God through Christ by faith. Apostasy, as they define it, is the act of an unbeliever who deliberately refuses to trust in Christ and the saving message about Him after having heard and understood its truths. Such unbelievers may even claim or profess to be a Christian, but in reality they are not possessors of Christ and the salvation He provides. John Walfoord, in his entry on “Apostasy” in The Theological holds this view:

Though the Greek word apostasia is found only twice in the New Testament (Acts 21:21; 2 Thess. 2:3), the concept is found many times in Scripture. The word means “a falling away from,” a deserting or turning from a position or view formerly held....

Spiritual apostasy occurs when a person who once claimed to be a believer departs from what he or she formerly professed to believe. An apostate is not one who was saved and then lost his or her salvation. An apostate, though having claimed to be a believer, never was saved in the first place. Relatively minor differences in doctrine are not referred to as apostasy; instead apostasy is a departure from major components of Christian truth.

Major characteristics of those who apostatize include embracing doctrines of demons ... (1Tim. 4:1–3). Apostates may have a form of godliness but not know experientially its power or reality (2Tim. 3:5). Apostasy is denounced in Hebrews 10:26–29; 2Peter 2:15–21; and Jude 3–4.

Apostasy is a departure from truth not simply because of ignorance; it is deliberate and therefore merits divine judgment. The only cure for apostasy is for the individual to come to Christ for salvation, to become a true believer in

In the Dictionary of Everyday Theology and we find a similar definition from Bruce Demarest and Keith Matthews:

Apostasy constitutes a serious turning away and repudiation of core Christian beliefs and practices. The Greek verb, aphistēmi (Luke 8:13; 1Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:12) means “to fall away” or “become apostate.” An apostate [i.e., an unbeliever] is a professing Christian who renounces Christian faith previously held [in profession only] and who often opposes and assaults the faith. Someone [i.e., an unbeliever] who professes Christianity but who then turns aside from the faith [he or she professed but never actually embraced by faith] commits apostasy.... An apostate (unbeliever) can’t be said to fall from grace because he never was truly in a state of grace [i.e., they were never saved to begin

With these definitions in mind, who can commit apostasy is reserved for only What these unbelievers are apostatizing from is not a genuine saving relationship with Christ, but a phony profession of faith in Christ. Apostates are thus unbelievers who remain unbelievers after rejecting Christ and the Christian faith they heard but never experientially embraced except in profession only. With this definition of “once saved, always saved” theology is

Of course, any definition of a biblical word or concept needs to find support from the context itself. The reference works above cite passages that we have already examined earlier in this book (Luke 8:13; 1Timothy 4:1; 2Peter 2:15–21). We need not cover these passages again, nor the other passages on apostasy we examined but we remind our readers of what we discovered thus far. In none of these warning passages does the word or concept of apostasy refer to unbelievers being warned about “falling away” from a profession of faith and remaining what they presently are and always have We discovered the warning passages regarding apostasy were directed specifically to Thus, who can commit apostasy is reserved for believers only. What a believer apostatizes from is an actual saving relationship with God the Father through Believers who commit apostasy (i.e., become wind up sharing in the unbelievers’ eternal destiny (hell). The potential catalysts for influencing a believer to commit apostasy were multifaceted, but all were aimed at subverting the believer’s faith in God and

Believers could apostatize if they failed to persevere in

1.through various trials and hardships that test one’s faith in God.

2.through times of persecution that arise from a hostile world opposed to Jesus and those proclaiming His saving message to

3.by embracing false teachings perpetrated by false teachers that lead people to follow a different Jesus and Gospel message than the one originally proclaimed by Christ and His apostles. “Whatever form this [false teaching] presents itself ... [its end result] is to blunt the edge of faith in Jesus Christ and ultimately to destroy it

4.by returning to an unrepentant and sinful lifestyle clearly forbidden by God. For a believer “to return to the very things from which he was saved by belief in Christ (and which by their nature exclude a man from the kingdom of God), and to perform those acts which are expressly forbidden by the Lord” is to be going down a path that leads to As Marshall rightly notes: “sin is an act and attitude which is incompatible with the obedience of faith, and hence constitutes a denial of Thus, a believer who unrepentantly persists in living like an unbeliever will eventually become an unbeliever and share in their same This type of moral apostasy could come about through false teachers and various “worldly” influences (both demonic and human

What about Hebrews 3:12 and 10:26–29, cited above by once-saved-always-saved adherents? Will they support their definitions of or will they teach that which we have already discovered from the New Testament on apostasy? We will examine the first passage and leave the second to be discussed in the next

Hebrews chapter 3 starts out with the writer addressing his readers as “holy brothers [and sisters], partakers of a heavenly calling” Believers are those who share in or partake of a

destiny [that] is not confined to present earthly realities.... They have “tasted the heavenly gift” (6:4), and “the heavens” in Hebrews refers to the presence of God (9:23). The heavenly calling for believers is also described as a heavenly city (11:16), which is also called “the heavenly Jerusalem” (12:22). The heavenly calling of believers focuses on the future, for believers “seek the city that is to come”

The author/pastor admonishes his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to

consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later; but Christ was over God’s house as a son (Hebrews 3:1b–6a).

The author then includes himself in a concluding warning to his readers: are of his house [or “household,” if in we hold firmly to [or “hold on to,” our confidence and the hope we take pride in” (v.6b,

This confidence which they are to hold on to and not “throw away” (10:35a), comes through a saving relationship with God the Father and His “messianic Son of promise; cf. The Son’s sacrificial death opened up free access to the Father and His enthroned Son to those who have had their hearts cleansed by faith through Jesus’ high priestly work (see 10:19–23; cf. Hebrews 2:9–17, 9:11–28; 10:10–14; Acts 15:9; 26:18). Because Jesus is our “great high priest,” believers can freely “receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help” (Hebrews 4:14–16, Indeed, our “merciful and faithful high priest” “is able to help those who are being tempted,” “because he himself suffered when tempted” (2:17–18). Believers are in constant need of the Father and His faithful Son’s help to remain faithful. But believers are responsible to “keep on coming boldly” to God’s throne of grace (4:16, and to “keep on drawing to God with “full assurance of faith” (10:22) in order to find the help and strength they need to complete their pilgrimage and receive the hoped-for promise that a faithful God will give to His faithful people.

The writer of Hebrews is calling his fellow Christians to hold on to their confidence that is fueled by and to hope, that and confident expectation of eternal with God (cf. 1:14; 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9). But the author’s teaching does not follow popular opinion: once in God’s household, always in God’s household, since “continued membership in God’s household is conditional: if we hold

There is a clear question implied by the author to his readers after demonstrating that Moses and Jesus were you be It is this persistent question that explains the long section of warning and exhortation that follows in a section that warns about “the threat of We will only quote chapter 3 of this section since we will be discussing chapter 4 later.

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” See to it [or “Watch out,” brothers, that none of you has a unbelieving heart that turns away “falls away,” from the living But encourage [“exhort,” one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in if we hold firmly till the end the confidence [“assurance,” “reality,” we had at first. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief (Hebrews 3:7–19,

The author transitions from his final statement in 3:6 to a passionate warning and exhortation to his readers not to repeat the unfaithfulness that Israel made in the days of Moses. The background to Israel’s unfaithfulness and God’s judgment (described in Hebrews 3:7–11, 15–19; 4:2, 5–6, 11), follows

the account in Numbers 14 of what happened at Kadesh when Israel refused to trust God to bring them into the promised land after they had heard the adverse report of the As a result God swore they would wander in the wilderness for forty years until all the adult generation who had left Egypt had died except for faithful Caleb and Joshua, whose “minority report” was overruled at the time but who proved in the end to have been right. It was this incident that inspired Psalm 95:7–11, where the psalmist reflects on Israel’s rebellion (including also their earlier turning against God’s purpose for them at Massah/Meribah, Ex 17:1–7) and on the “rest” in the promised land they forfeited through unbelief, and calls on his own contemporaries not to repeat their ancestors’ mistake: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” The author of Hebrews finds in this psalm a message still relevant to his own readers, followers of one greater than Moses, and so proceeds to expound Psalm 95:7–11 at length.... He finds particular significance in the word “rest,” which in the psalm described the forfeited entry into the promised land, but which for our author is a model for the more ultimate heavenly “rest” promised to the people of God. If Israel’s rebellion cost them the temporal “rest” of Canaan, how much more should his readers now take care that they do not lose their heavenly rest. Israel’s fault was in not heeding the voice of God; and God continues to speak “today,” another word our author dwells on, pointing out that “today” does not last forever. So let them not in their turn refuse to listen. As the stakes are now higher (the heavenly rest), so the imperative echoes more strongly, “Do not harden your

The author begins to apply the warning of Psalm 95 to his readers in verses 12–19 by repeating “the verb blepō (‘see to it,’ 3:12; ‘so we see,’ 3:19) and the noun apistia (‘unbelieving,’ 3:12; ‘unbelief,’ As William Lane (1991a: 83) notes: “The warning against unbelief in verses 12 and 19 provides a literary and theological frame for the admonition to maintain the basic position of faith, which is centrally placed in verse 14.” “The passage represents a serious exhortation to persevering discipleship and unwavering

Wesley Adams (1999: 1321) writes: “That his readers are genuine Christians is again indicated by the word ‘brothers’ (cf. 3:1).” However, popular Calvinist author John MacArthur says “brothers” in verse 12 does not refer to Christian brothers like “holy brothers” in 3:1, but “to racial brothers, unbelieving Perhaps many of these unbelieving Jews

professed to be Christians... but they all were against No matter how close a person may be to accepting Jesus Christ as if he never comes to Him, he still has an evil, unbelieving heart.... Once you have heard the gospel and understood its claims, and then say no to Jesus Christ, you have fallen away. You have become

What clues does MacArthur provide from the context that the author has suddenly switched from addressing Christian brothers in verse 3:1 ff., to addressing Jewish brothers in verse 12? He provides none, but he simply makes this assertion. Since nothing from the context tips off the reader to make this radical switch, why does MacArthur do so? It seems that he has done so to protect his theology of eternal But note what happens when you place MacArthur’s assertion into verse 12:

Watch brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you Jewish an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God.

If this appears to make no sense to you, then you are not alone. MacArthur has the saved author of Hebrews “admonishing his unsaved or unbelieving Jewish brothers to ‘be constantly on the that no fellow Jewish unbeliever among them develops an unbelieving heart that they already have, and which they have themselves! By reading an idea into the text, MacArthur has the author saying the exact opposite of what he intended.

The author is warning not unbelievers, and it is only believers who can develop an unbelieving heart that could lead them “to from the living God” It is this unbelieving heart that God’s wilderness people developed that brought down God’s wrath and terrible oath—“They shall never enter my rest” (3:11,

Fortunately, other Calvinist commentators are able to rightly acknowledge who the author of Hebrews is addressing in verse 12: “The warning is addressed to believers, to brothers and sisters in the church (or churches) receiving the letter. In fact, every single person should take the admonition seriously, for he directs it to ‘any of

Since the writer of Hebrews calls for constant vigilance in watching out for fellow believers developing an evil of unbelief, this leads us to surmise that believers can tell when another fellow believer is moving toward such unbelief and potential apostasy. We can safely suggest that the potential signs of unbelief taking hold in a believer’s life can be gathered from the author’s use of the failures of the wilderness generation. Their unbelief manifested itself in their attitude and actions: sin, rebellion, and disobedience to God’s revealed Therefore, when a believer is engaged in sinful disobedience toward God’s revealed will, this would have alerted the believing community that intervention was needed to stave off further seeds of unbelief that can harden the heart and potentially grow into outright apostasy if persisted in. “Consistent mutual accountability” is what is needed “to minimize the danger of apostasy for any given member of the

To further minimize the danger of apostasy, the believing community is to “Keep on exhorting one another every day so that no one may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews Daily encouragement is necessary since believers are confronted with daily temptations to be seduced by “the temporary pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25, “The purpose of all this strengthening exhortation is indeed the purpose of the epistle itself: to confirm faith and avert the danger of

An additional measure to avoid apostasy is found in 3:14, “For we have become partners with if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end” With “we,” the author includes himself with his readers as those who have become “the Messiah’s partners” We have become is in the perfect tense, which “indicates that the partnership with Christ is a reality that was initiated in the past ... and continues in the Ellingworth expresses well the meaning the author intended to convey with the perfect tense and conditional “if”: “We have become, and are now, partners with Christ; and we shall remain such if we hold fast to the Anderson (2013: 124) notes:

The condition for remaining Christ’s partners is intensified through the use of technical business terminology. The verb to share translates a noun that could mean partners. To hold was used in commercial contexts of holding or retaining possession of property. Firmly often applied to the validity or guarantee of legal agreement or contract (see 2:2), and til the end to its date of termination (see BDAG, 1041).

Commentators and translators differ as to what the author was telling his readers to be holding on to. Are believers to hold on to their original/initial confidence, or Anderson states, “There is no ancient precedent for translating hypostasis as ‘confidence’ or ‘assurance’ see Lane 1991, 82 n. “Reality” is a translation adopted by and held by some “According to this understanding, the hearers are urged to hold steadfastly to the reality of God received in Christ at their

While “reality” may be a better possibility than confidence or assurance, we agree with Anderson’s reasons for understanding hypostasis to refer to the believer’s initial “commitment” to Christ. “Since hypostasis is also used as a technical term for a business obligation, such as the expectation of rent due or of commitment to the terms of a commercial venture (see BDAG, 1040–41)”; and finding a “clustering of other business terms” mentioned earlier, winds up tilting hypostasis toward

This condition to be holding on firmly to one’s original (faith) commitment to Christ is the opposite of developing an unbelieving heart that relationally apostatizes/departs from It also fits well with the writer’s earlier call in verse 6 for believers to be holding on to their confidence that is fueled by faith, and to the hope of final salvation with Believers remain partners of the Messiah, and all the salvific blessings that come with being His partners, on the condition that they continue to hold firmly to their original (faith) commitment “till the end”—either until death or the return of the Messiah when He brings final salvation to those who are (by faith) waiting eagerly for Him (Hebrews 9:28).

In verses 15–19, the author returns to admonish his readers: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as [the people of God of old did] in the rebellion” (3:15). Why the readers must heed this warning is explained by the author in a question-and-answer format with a summarizing

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled?

Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? (v.16)

And with whom was he provoked for forty years?

Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? (v.17)

And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest?

[Was it not] to those who were disobedient? (v.18)

So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. (v.19)

The unbelief from the people of God manifested itself in rebellion, sin, and disobedience to God’s expressed will to enter the land He promised to give them. The good beginning the Israelites experienced at the hands of God (i.e., redemption from Egyptian slavery through the Red Sea) did not have a good ending. Everyone twenty years and older who displayed this “disobedience of (i.e., was prevented from entering God’s rest. This promise of entering God’s rest will be featured throughout the next section (4:1–11), along with warnings that only those who continue to believe and do not follow the example of Israel’s disobedience of unbelief will enter God’s

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful [literally, “let us fear” that none of you be found [or “judged,” to have fallen short of For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.” It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort [“strive,” to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:1–13,

The author includes himself in these exhortations (vv. 1, 11) with “let us,” and he ties what was previously said in chapter 3 to what he will write in chapter 4 with Both the wilderness generation and the believers the author is addressing “are part of the one people of God called by his word to the same kind of faith and obedience in anticipation of the same The “wilderness generation’s and consequent loss of entering into God’s rest “poses the sternest warning to contemporary believers. On the basis of this continuity the pastor urges his hearers to separate themselves from their predecessors by persevering in faithful “The wilderness generation came all the way to the border of the Promised Land but ‘fell short’ of entrance through refusal to trust God.... The opposite of falling short is perseverance in the life of faith and obedience until final entrance into God’s rest (cf. God’s people have the opportunity of entering God’s promised rest through a persevering faith, or of being found/judged by God on Judgment Day to have fallen short of it through unbelief and

Note the complementary warnings that bracket verses

Therefore, let us since a promise remains of entering his rest,

lest any of you should be found to have fallen (v.1)

Let us be diligent, then, to enter into this rest,

lest anyone fall by the same example of disobedience. (v.11)

What is likely shocking “to modern ears, and quite off-putting, is the appeal to fear (developed in 4:1, The possibility of falling short of entering God’s promised rest is real, as the wilderness generation The author is not urging “a frantic, panicky fear but rather a sober consideration of the consequences of our actions that leads us to make good especially since we will stand one day before God “to whom we must give account Such healthy fear should incite us to faith and obedience rather than follow the unbelief and disobedience displayed by the wilderness generation.

It should be mentioned that this promised rest “is styled as the preached gospel in 4:2 and 6” (Anderson 2013: 129). It is this preached Gospel message that the readers have already “believed” or trusted in (4:3) and now must persevere in if they are to enter into God’s rest.

What is this promised rest that believers are to be diligently striving (by to “It is not the same as entering the Promised Land of Canaan. Joshua led them into that land, yet we are told here that Joshua did not lead them in the promised rest. If he had, the author claimed, the door to rest would still not be open J. Ramsey Michaels (2009: 360) states that entering God’s rest “is not an earthly rest ... but a heavenly rest in the sense of eternal salvation or life with God after death.” Michaels is definitely not alone as a commentator in interpreting God’s rest in this and he is right in line with several reference Furthermore, many commentators and scholars rightly note how

“Rest” correlates with other images of salvation described as future (“to come”) or transcendent (“heavenly”) in Hebrews. There are future realities such as “the world to come” (2:5), powers of the age to come (6:5), good things to come (10:1), and the city to come (13:14). Their transcendent character is expressed in references to the heavenly call (3:1), “heavenly gift” (6:4), heavenly sanctuary (8:5), “heavenly things” (9:23), heavenly homeland (11:16), and “heavenly Jerusalem” (12:22).

The rest may be compared with “the promised eternal inheritance” (9:15; see 6:12; 10:36) or salvation (1:14; see 9:28 [and 5:9, “eternal salvation”]). It is an entrance into glory (2:10) or into “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain” (6:19), where Jesus has already entered as our forerunner (6:20) and champion (2:9–10; 12:2). The rest fulfilled in the unshakable kingdom (12:28), that “enduring city” (13:14) with solid foundations, whose “architect and builder is God” (11:10). Rest, then, is one of the many images that display the multifaceted character of our eschatological [i.e., future and final] hope [of being in God’s

God’s rest is “the final goal of the Christian where persevering believers experience “final entrance into God’s presence at Christ’s This heavenly or “final with God and His people can be forfeited through apostasy via unbelief and Therefore, believers must diligently strive by faith to enter this rest, “lest anyone fall by the same example of displayed by the wilderness This “fall” means to “commit and involves missing out in sharing in the future Messianic salvation/rest given to those who diligently persevere in the obedience of This “fall”

resembles the use of πίπτω fall] in 1Cor 10:12, another passage that uses the example of the wilderness generation’s defection to warn believers. In both cases the meaning for πίπτω is virtually the same: the audience is warned against committing apostasy and falling into eschatological [i.e., future and final] ruin. The combined ramification of these verses makes clear that the apostasy threatening the audience follows after the rebellion of Israel in the wilderness. The Christ-followers in Hebrews are identified as God’s people in the last days, and they are in danger of rejecting God and failing to enter the promised eschatological They are in danger of abandoning God and the final salvation that comes at the end of their journey. Their potential rejection of God would happen through disobedience and

It is widely recognized that the author of Hebrews connects faith or trust in God with obedience. This trusting obedience is put on display in chapter 11 to inspire his readers to do the The author gives names from the people of God of old who exemplified this obedience of faith. Even though the word obey is not used in most of these examples, the act of obedience can be traced back to an earlier command from God that was to be obediently followed by

Acts of obedience flowing from faith in Hebrews 11

Hero (verse)	By Faith	Act of Obedience
Abel (4)	By faith	Offered God a more acceptable sacrifice
Noah (7)	By faith	Built an ark
Abraham(8⁠–⁠9,17)	Byfaith	Left his homeland; offered up Isaac
Moses (24⁠–⁠28)	By faith	Identified with God’s people; chose to be mistreated rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin; left Egypt not fearing the king’s anger; persevered; kept the Passover and the application of blood
Israelites(29⁠–⁠30)	By faith	Crossed the Red Sea; marched around the walls of Jericho

Here we have clear examples of people acting in an obedience that springs from faith. The clearest connection of faith expressing itself in obedience is from Abraham: faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance” (Hebrews 11:8a, emphasis

While most Christians would likely be comfortable in saying that obeying God flows out of one’s trust in Him, some are quite uncomfortable with anyone declaring that believers must obey God to remain in a saving relationship with Him. For some this amounts to “salvation by works,” and it is not in keeping with salvation by faith declared in the New Testament. But, as we have already witnessed, the author of Hebrews views acts of obedience to God as flowing from faith or trust in Him. Thus, the author is quite comfortable with declaring that obeying God’s Son is required for believers to enjoy final salvation with Him:

[Jesus] learned obedience from [the things] which he suffered. And having been made perfect, he became to all the ones obeying him [the] source of eternal salvation, (Hebrews 5:8–9,

The faith that saves is an obedient faith that results in “eternal for literally, “‘all those who keep on obeying him’ (Greek present Lenski says this obedience “is chosen in order to match the obedience of Jesus, for we are his brothers (2:11). We learn our obedience to him from him.... To obey him ... means above all to believe in him, to yield to him the obedience of faith, which then naturally results in doing his will by moral living, which is the fruit of such This obedience of faith is in stark contrast to the disobedience of unbelief the wilderness people displayed and that the author highlighted several times as a warning (3:16–17; 4:2, 6, 11). Entering into God’s promised rest (final salvation) and experiencing “eternal salvation” from Jesus is conditional upon persevering in the obedience of

From our investigation of Hebrews 3–4, we found the vocabulary of apostasy in 3:12, a possible falling away, apostatizing from God via unbelief; and in 4:11, a possible fall/apostasy via disobedience. In 4:1, we found a possible falling short of God’s promised rest (final salvation) as the end result of following the apostasy (unbelief and disobedience) displayed by the wilderness generation.

In each of these warnings, we discovered that only a believer can commit apostasy (i.e., become an When you combine this scriptural testimony with the author’s admonishments for believers to be (1)constantly on the watch that no one in the believing community begins developing an unbelieving heart that could lead to apostatizing from God (3:12; cf. and (2)the author’s call for believers to persevere in faith (“hold on,” 3:6, 14; “strive to enter” into God’s salvific rest, 4:11), we arrive at the same conclusion as Scot McKnight does: “The only people who need perseverance are Christians,” and “the only people who can commit apostasy are Christians. Non-Christians have nothing to persevere toward or apostatize

Once saved, always saved definitions regarding who can commit apostasy and what it entails do not correspond with the writer of Hebrews or the clear and consistent testimony of the rest of the New Testament writers. Once saved, always saved adherents are in error in their definitions regarding apostasy, and as J. Rodman Williams notes, some are additionally in error in understanding

salvation too much as a “state.” From this perspective, to be saved is to enter into “a state of grace.” However true it is that one moves into a new realm—whether it is called the kingdom of God, eternal life, or other like heart of the matter is the establishment of a new relationship with Prior to salvation, one was “without God” or “against God,” cut off from His presence. Now through Jesus Christ reconciliation—“at-one-ment with God”—has occurred. Moreover, the Holy Spirit, who becomes present, is not merely some force or energy but God Himself in a new and intimate relationship. Hence, if a person begins to “drift away,” it is not from some static condition or “state” but from a Person. It is a personal relationship that thereby is betrayed, broken, forfeited; this is the tragic meaning of apostasy. It is not so much giving up something, even so marvellous as salvation, but the forsaking of a Person. Surely through such an action salvation too is forfeited. But the critical matter is the severing of a relationship with the personal

Williams’s comments regarding apostasy are right in line with the author of Hebrews—believers are warned about forsaking a person, of the tragic possibility of severing their saving relationship with the living and personal God and His Son, who is “the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews

Since apostasy is a real danger for Christians, the Christian community should take seriously its responsibility in helping to prevent Christians from apostatizing from God by delivering words of both encouragement and warning to its members. The Church seems to be doing well with the former but not the latter. This is potentially tragic when, “As a warning, apostasy can function as a moral injunction that strengthens commitment to holiness as well as the need to turn in complete trust to God in Christ through his The writer of Hebrews used warnings for this very purpose, and the contemporary Church needs these every bit as much as it did in the first century.

Theological Wordbook: The 200 Most Important Theological Terms and Their Relevance for 18–19.

& Matthews 2010: 15, bracketed information was added for clarification. We agree that apostates are unbelievers, but we disagree on the scriptural evidence that apostates were never saved to begin with.

popular saying quoted by once-saved-always-saved advocates in addition to: “They were professors but not possessors of Christ,” is “They had a said faith but not a real faith.” The Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraff, often uses this saying on his radio show.

5:27–30; 18:6–9; 18:21–35; 24:9–13; 24:42–51; Mark 9:42–48; Luke 12:35–46; John 15:1–6; 16:1; Romans 8:12–13; 11:17–24; 2Corinthians 11:1–15; Galatians 1:6–9; 5:1–6; 5:13–21; 6:7–10; Colossians 1:21–23; 2 Peter 1:1–11; 2:1, 18–22; 3:14–18; Revelation 21:7–8.

to be considered an “apostate,” in keeping with the teaching of the New Testament, means a former believer has severed their saving union with Christ by becoming an unbeliever (John 15:1–6). Therefore, apostasy is impossible for those who have never entered into a saving relationship with Christ.

Cottrell (2002: 376) rightly argues that the condition for becoming saved/justified and remaining saved/justified is the same in the New Testament—by grace through faith in Christ. Thus, “falling away” or apostasy occurs when a Christian allows their faith in Christ to die “by a deliberate decision to stop believing in Christ and his saving work” (2002: 380).

... are frequently tempted to give up faith because of the difficulties of maintaining it amid fierce opposition” (Marshall 1969: 197).

Marshall 1969: 197.

1969: 197. Cottrell (2002: 381) says a Christians “faith may die ... through strangulation by After conversion, if a Christian allow sins to continue and to flourish without fighting against them, they will sooner or later choke the life out his faith.”

Cottrell (2002: 381–382) says that if a Christian “continues to live a life controlled by the sins of the flesh, he will surely go back into that state of spiritual death: ‘For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live’ (Rom. 8:13).”

J. Oropeza has written the most exhaustive study on the reality of apostasy in the New Testament—3 Volumes, 793 pages (see Bibliography). He “uncovered several factors that result in apostasy.” Some of these factors overlap, and some Christian communities were “susceptible to more than one of these.” The first major factor in a believer committing apostasy (i.e., becoming an unbeliever) is “unbelief.” Other factors potentially leading to apostasy include: suffering and teachings and and negligence towards the things of (specifically, command to love one’s and engaging in sinful acts (“vice-doing”) or assimilating to the ungodly attitudes and actions reflected in a non-Christian culture (See Volume 3:236–240). Paul W. Barnett notes four reasons for apostasy in the book of Acts, Hebrews, the General Epistles (i.e., James, 1, 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John, Jude), and in the book of Revelation, as: (1) Moral or Spiritual Failure; (2) Persecution; (3) False Teaching; (4) Self-Choice (“Apostasy,” DLNTD 75).

we dive into Hebrews 3–4, we should note there is a “broadly agreed-on understanding that Hebrews was written to a group of Christians sometime in the latter first century to persuade (motivate, exhort) them to remain true to their Christian confession and not abandon their faith in Christ” (Stewart 2010: 546). Furthermore,

As with a number of early Christian writings, the author of Hebrews ... works within an eschatological time frame of “now” and “not yet” in which salvation is presently being experienced by God’s people even though it has not reached its finality. Similar to Paul, one of the ways this author warns his audience against falling away is by comparing his audience with Israel’s wilderness generation, who were judged by God before entering into the final rest or “not yet” culmination of their journey (3:7–4:11; cf. 1 Cor 10:1–12). From the author’s point of view, the recipients face the danger of failing to persevere until the culmination of the eschaton the end of this present age] when Christ returns, and both the encouragements and warnings in Hebrews function as rhetorical strategies—one to encourage them to continue their faith in Christ until he returns; the other to dissuade them from committing apostasy (Oropeza 2012b: 12).

The overall teaching of the exhortations in Hebrews calls for believers “to persevere in faith” (McKnight 1992: 31). While “faith has an intellectual or cognitive aspect whereby the believer assents to the reality of God,” faith manifests itself in “trusting fidelity” (Attridge 1989: 22), and “obedience” (McKnight 1992: 32). The whole thrust of Hebrews is to propel its readers “onward toward a life of obedience, courage, and fidelity to God’s revelation in Christ” (McKnight 1992: 32). McKnight rightly concludes that future and “final salvation” with God and His people in Hebrews “is conditional” upon “persevering faith” (1992: 57, 59). The writer of Hebrews understands that “To be a Christian means to persevere in faith and faithfulness to God and Christ” (Schneider 1957: 28).

“partners in” a heavenly calling; or “who share in a heavenly calling,”

2015: 113. Hughes (1987: 126) says, “The origin of the call is God, ‘our Father in heaven’ (Mt. 6:9; 7:11).... The call, moreover, is heavenly in the end to which it leads as well as in the origin from which it springs. It is ‘the upward call’ (Phil. 3:14) summoning the Christian to a heavenly homeland (Hebrews 11:16) and to the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Furthermore, as our author solemnly warns in 12:25ff., to turn a deaf ear to him who speaks from heaven can mean only perdition.” It is important to note “that the addressees are not guaranteed entry to that heavenly presence but are called to it, and the serious responsibility which that call involves will soon be emphasized” (Attridge 1989: 107).

though the words “is faithful” are not in the Greek text, “the idea is implied by the coordinating (contrastive) conjunction ‘but’] and is rightly supplied by most modern translations (e.g. [n]RSV, NASB, NEB)” (Still 2008: 43).

emphatic pronoun ... ‘we’ reinforces the concept of God’s present household as comprising those who believe in Jesus” (Miller 1988: 73).

& Verkruyse (1997: 118) write:

We are his, if we hold The Christian’s position as part of the house of God is conditional. He must remain faithful. The conditionality is emphasized even more by the use of a specific emphatic word ... which appears only here, 3:14, and 6:3 in the whole NT. Thayer says of the encl*tic participle which is here appended to the ordinary word ean (“if,”) that “the idea of the word to which it is annexed must be taken in its fullest extent.”

781: “a state of boldness and confidence, courage, confidence, boldness, fearlessness ... in relation to God.”

& Smith 2021: 136.

2005: 245; cf. “continue to draw near” (Lane 1991: 2:286).

781, states that this “confidence is the result or the accompaniment of faith” in Hebrews 10:35. Contextually this would apply to Hebrews 3:6 as well. “The only real antidote for apostasy, the only real guard against it, is bold enthusiasm in maintaining one’s faith” (Miller 1988: 74).

205–206.

2013: 115. So J. Thompson 2008: 98; Marshall 1969: 140. This text indicates, along with others in Hebrews (3:14; 6:11; 5:9; 9:28; 10:36–39, 12:1–3) “that salvation is conditional and requires a persevering faith in Christ.... Our security as believers is maintained as we remain loyal to Christ and do not abandon our faith in and loving obedience to him” (Stamps 1992: 1950). Anderson (2013: 115) notes: “The verb translated hold on occurs again in exhortations at 3:14 and 10:23, as does the similar verb ‘hold on firmly’ (4:14; see 6:18). This kind of condition, expressed again in 3:14, prepares for the warnings against apostasy that immediately follow (see esp. 3:12; 4:1, 11).” Therefore, the writer could not be saying, as some suggest, that “we prove we are Christians in God’s household if we, by faith, hold on to our confidence and hope. If we do not hold on, we prove we were never Christians to begin with.” The most obvious problem with this thinking is that the author already considers himself a Christian and those whom he is addressing as “holy brothers and sisters” (3:1). The author’s primary concern throughout Hebrews is to exhort Christians to remain Christians through a persevering faith in God and His enthroned Son. The author’s “great fear is they will not [hold on], but that they will apostatize” (Whedon 1880: 63). Indeed, if Christians do not hold on to their confidence they will “become ruined apostates” (J. Wallace 1855: 82).

1985: 61.

Lane 1985: 61.

1990: 70. So Laansma 1997: 334. “In 3:7–4:13 our author uses Israel’s apostasy in the wilderness as an example to warn his audience not to fall away” (Oropeza 2012b: 19).

says this going astray “frequently refers to apostasy in early Jewish and Christian sources [E.g., Deut 13:6; Hos 8:6; Amos 2:4; Isa 41:9; Wis 14:12; 2 Bar. 4.8; Matt 24:4, 11, 24; Luke 21:8; Jas 5:19; 2 Pet 2:15; 1 John 2:26; Rev 2:20; 1 Clem. 16.6; Herm. Vis. 3.7.1.]” (2012b: 20, and fn. 82). Miller 1988: 81 notes: “‘they continually go astray in their heart(s).’ The present tense is used. The middle voice gives the force of ‘they lead themselves astray/they wander about.’ As in Isaiah 53:6b, moral responsibility is attached. They had been on a right way. Then they strayed away from it. ‘In their heart’ indicates a disposition to stray. They desire what is off the right way and go aside voluntarily.”

“an evil, unbelieving heart.” “a wicked, unbelieving heart.”

early Jewish and Christian sources the verb ... frequently refers to religious apostasy, a falling away from God” (Oropeza 2012b: 21; cf. Kellermann, EDNT 1:183). Gingrich 34: become apostate Lk 8:13; Hb 3:12.” Mounce’s 1103: make defection, fall away, Lk. 8:13; 1Tim. 4:1; Hebrews 3:12” Abbott-Smith 71; Robinson 113; Strong’s 2039). Bauder, NIDNTT 2:608 writes:

According to Hebrews 3:12, apostasy consists in an unbelieving and self-willed movement away from God (in contrast to Hebrews 3:14), which must be prevented at all costs. aphistēmi thus connotes in the passages just mentioned [Luke 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Hebrews 3:12] the serious situation of becoming separated from the living God after a previous turning towards him, by falling away from the faith. It is a movement of unbelief and sin, which can also be expressed by other words....

(1988: 85–86) makes the case from the grammar that verse 12b “can be translated ‘an evil unbelieving heart (that would lead you) to depart from the living God.’” Thus, the ESV makes a sound translation decision for v. 12: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

“For we have become sharers in the Messiah.” “For we have become partakers of Christ.” “For we have become partners with Christ.”

to Whitfield (2008: 82), in agreement with Vanhoye, Numbers 14 provides a number of parallels with the language/themes found in Hebrews 3:7–4:13. To give one clear example, the danger of unbelief in Hebrews 3:12 finds a parallel in Numbers 14:11, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people despise Me? How long will they not trust in Me despite all the signs I have performed among them?’” emphasis added). Thus, this parallel (and others), suggest that “throughout the development of Hebrews 3:7–4:13, the writer remains constantly attached to Numbers 14” (Whitfield 2008: 82). The writer of Hebrews particular choice of Numbers 14 and Israel’s rebellion against God at Kadesh “is not simply a story about unfaithfulness, but a story about the contrast between an unfaithful majority and a faithful minority. Among the exemplars of loyalty stand Caleb and [Joshua]” (Whitfield 2008: 92).

2006: 61–62.

1999: 1320.

1983: 92.

in the book of Hebrews do we find the author addressing Jewish unbelievers as those who “professed to be Christians.” This idea is completely absent from any casual reading of the whole book.

MacArthur, a Calvinist, speaks about unbelievers being “close” to accepting Christ is strange when he holds that God from eternity past has chosen to save the elect through irresistible grace and withholds such saving grace from the non-elect, which insures their damnation. The non-elect in Calvinism will never be “close” to accepting Christ.

1983: 92. The reader likely noticed how MacArthur’s definition of who can fall away or become an “apostate” follows the same definition articulated by other once-saved-always-saved definitions that we cited earlier.

says in the introduction of his commentary on Hebrews that there are three groups in view in this letter (1983: xi–xv): (1) Hebrew Christians who received Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. (2) Hebrew non-Christians who were intellectually convinced that Jesus was indeed who He claimed to be, but unwilling to place their trust in Him. (3) Hebrew non-Christians who were not convinced at all that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

MacArthur (1983: xv) says, “The key to interpreting any part of Hebrews is to understand which group is being addressed.” He believes the primary message of Hebrews is addressed to believers, but every now and then the writer interjects warnings to the two unbelieving groups. Therefore,

In Hebrews there is confidence and assurance for the Christian. There is warning to the intellectually convinced that he must receive Christ or his knowledge will damn him. Finally, there is a convincing presentation to the unbelieving Jew who is not even intellectually persuaded that he should believe in Jesus Christ. (1983: xv)

First, we are convinced that no one reading the entire book of Hebrews straight through for the first time would conclude that the writer was warning unbelievers that they must receive Christ or be damned. Second, we cannot find a single passage where the author calls for unbelieving Jews to receive Christ as Savior as MacArthur argues. Third, as we saw with MacArthur’s handling of Hebrews 3:12, he interjects unbelieving Jewish brothers into this warning passage and makes it say the opposite of what the author intended. Predictably, MacArthur does this throughout his commentary on the other warning passages.

“See to it.” “Take care.” “Beware.”

1987: 145, fn. 45. Blepō is a present tense imperative, thus, “Be watching out”

transliterated form [of is ‘to apostasize.’ Apostasy is the end result of a psychological process from sin to a deceived mind to a hardened heart to unbelief to apostasy (Dods)” (Miller 1988: 86). “The danger is presented in a grammatical construction that indicates a possibility very real and present” (Craddock 1998: 49). Bloomfield 34, says “unbelief” is “Sometimes used of willful disbelief and apostasy, as Hebrews 3:12 and 19.” “Apostasy refers to abandoning what one has previously believed, in this case, a disowning of Jesus as the Son of God” (Adams 1999: 1321). This unbelieving that “results in apostasy” is more than “simply passive disbelief, but active resistance to God’s will” since it is closely associated “with disobedience in the following verses [3:19; 4:6, 11]” (Attridge 1989: 116). It should be noted that the same Greek word for apostasy in 3:12 is found in the LXX of Numbers 14:9: “Do not become apostates from the Lord.” This command is specifically addressed to God’s covenant people whom he saved out of Egypt. Schreiner (2015: 126) says “Apostasy captures well the meaning of the word used here

phrase ‘the living God’ ... may generally be understood ... as ‘the God who gives life’” (Ellingworth 1993: 222). Therefore, it logically follows that if a believer were to apostatize from “the living God” it would result in them forfeiting eternal life (implied by Hughes 1987: 146), and to incur spiritual death (implied by Ellingworth 1993: 222). Since Jesus is the “the exact imprint” (Hebrews 1:3) of the nature of the living God (specifically the Father), and is the “source of eternal salvation,” to all those “obeying him” (Hebrews 5:9, in the obedience of faith, then, developing an unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God would necessarily result in the forfeiture of that life (and salvation) that is promised to those trusting and obeying the life giving God and His saving Son. Furthermore, since the God the Father and “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant” reside in “Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (12:22–24) along with “myriads of angels” and “the righteous,” it would be spiritually fatal for a believer to depart (apostatize) from the living God and become an unbeliever. In doing so, the apostate forfeits “receiving an unshakable kingdom” (12:28) and city from the living God and His Son.

(1999: 1321) notes: “Like the Hebrews mentioned in Psalm 95:7–11, God’s people under the new covenant ‘sometimes turn away from God in apostasy.... This may be provoked by suffering or persecution or by the pressures of temptation, but the root cause is always unbelief’ (Peterson, 1994, 1330).”

2015: 126. “It is noticeable [in v. 12] that our author addresses his readers tenderly as that is, fellow Christians (cf. v. 1 and 2:11ff.)...” (Hughes 1987: 145). Hughes goes on to write: “The ‘unbelieving heart’ mentioned here is not a heart that has not yet come to belief, but a heart that departs from belief ... in an act of willful apostasy” (Ibid.). Yet, rather inconsistently and contrary to what Hebrews 3:12 teaches, Hughes argues later (p. 221) that genuine Christians “do not fall away into apostasy” due to God always completing what he started in believers. Thus, according to Hughes, a person who does apostatize was never saved to begin with, even though they once publically professed allegiance to Christ at their baptism.

as in the Old Testament, the heart is thought of, not merely as the seat of the emotions, [but] the centre of the human personality, especially its will” (Ellingworth 1993: 31).

is manifested in disobedience” (Westcott 1903: 98).

2013: 123. So Lane 1991: 1:87.

2005: 66; cf. “continue to encourage” cf. Attridge 1989: 117.

Bauer says, “Sin is directly opposed to perseverance (10:36; 12:1f, 7).... The gravity of sin consists in the fact that it constitutes mistrust and unbelief in God ([Heb] 3:12, 19; 12:25)” (“Sin,” in EBT 862). “The antidote to apostasy is given in verse 13. Believers should exhort one another daily so that they are not deceived by sin that would lead them to abandon the Lord” (Schreiner 2015: 125).

course, believers are responsible for continuing to place themselves in the believing community to receive such encouragement/exhortations. Unfortunately, the author later mentions that some believers have already forsaken meeting together with fellow believers to receive such encouragement (see Hebrews 10:24–25).

1993: 223.

have come to share in Christ” Thayer 407: in, partaking of ... the salvation procured by him, Hebrews 3:14.”

here has the definite article (‘the Christ,’ or ‘the Anointed One’), suggesting that it is used here as a title for Jesus as the Jewish Messiah” (Michaels 2009: 356).

2013: 124. This partnership most likely occurred when the readers were “made partakers of the Holy Spirit,” (Hebrews 6:4b, NASB) through repentance and faith in Jesus the Messiah (see 6:1–4b).

1993: 227. “After all, we will remain Christ’s partners only if we continue to hold on to our original confidence until the end.” See online Supplement on Hebrews 3:14, for a Calvinist correcting other Calvinists for reading their theology into this text.

2013: 125. So co*ckerill 2012: 189, and fn. 71.

“For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.”

Easter 2014: 201; Oropeza 2012b: 25.

2012: 190.

2013: 125. So BDAG 1041. Cf. “our commitment.”

notes that patristic interpreters recognized that Hebrews 3:14b served “as a paraphrase for faith” (1989: 119, and fn. 85). We find other commentators and scholars that follow this line of thought: “He would then be saying here that ‘we are partakers of Christ if only we hold the principle of our existence as Christians (namely, faith) firm to the end’ (Hughes 1987: 152). “3:14 is a further reminder of the condition of salvation—the maintenance of faith.” (Jean Héring 1970: 28). Héring’s translation of 3:14 is: “For we are sharers in Christ, if indeed we maintain our faith as a firm basis—right to the end” (1970: 23). Delitzsch (1874: 179) has “believing confidence” or “confidence of faith.” He says, “Most modern commentators (Bleek, De Wette, Lünem.) understand by it [i.e., the good beginning of firm trust which the Hebrews had once made, but were now in danger of losing” (1874: 178). L&N 31:84 sees hypostasis in 3:14b = “trust,” and Thayer 645, “firm trust.” We are not alone in seeing faith/trust clearly implied in Thus, we agree with Owen Crouch that it is “Trust in Christ” which ultimately “starves off apostasy” (1983: 88).

also fits well with the writer’s later call to his readers: “But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:11–12,

we are following Neil Lightfoot (2002: 54–55) and using the

“disobedience of unbelief,” we mean a disobedience that springs from or manifests itself from a heart of unbelief.

the dire consequences for apostasy in 3:16–18 should stand as a sober reminder for the Hebrews to maintain their commitment to hope in Christ” (Anderson 2013: 127). “The process of Israel’s rebellion was just that, a process, an insidious slide into apostasy” (Laansma 1997: 263, fn. 59).

Anderson 2013: 127.

CSB follows the “that none of you be found to have fallen short.” We are aware of the differing translations for verse 1 after “let us fear” that none or any of you..

•should seem [dokeō] to have failed to reach it [hystereō]

•may seem [dokeō] to have come short of it [hystereō]

•be judged to have failed to reach it [hystereō]

Anderson (2013: 134) notes: “The last portion of this verse found to have fallen short of it 2011] has given rise to conflicting interpretations. The debate surrounds the meaning of two Greek words and Anderson helpfully discusses the two main interpretive options for the reader to consider. He argues convincingly for dokeō being “a judicial verdict: be found or ‘be judged’ to have fallen short (see Attridge 1989, 124, Isaacs 2002, 62)” and prefers the NIV rendering (2013: 135. See also co*ckerill 2012: 201–202; Miller 1988: 100–102; Osborne 2021: 83). Oropeza (2012b: 21) writes: “In 4:1 the audience is to fear, lest they should be judged to have failed to reach the promised rest.” He says dokeō “probably has a forensic meaning: to be ‘found’ or ‘judged’ as failing (cf. Prov 27:14; Josephus, Ant. 8.2.2; Philo, Planting 176; Plato, Statesman 299C, Attridge, 124).... It probably does not mean that they merely had wrong beliefs about the promise of rest being open to them or that they only appeared to fail but really did not. Such ideas would be extremely awkward when combined with the strong words ‘let us fear,’ and similar warnings in 3:12 and 4:11” (2012b: 21, fn. 87). We agree with Anderson and Oropeza’s conclusions that be “found” or “judged” are contextually the better translation decision. We should note that this “fallen short” means “to miss out on someth[ing] through one’s own fault” (BDAG 1043), and thus “fail to reach the goal” (Thayer 646) of God’s promised rest.

Anderson 2013: 132. view of the fearful examples of apostasy in the last chapter. Let us (Whedon 1880: 67). “By including himself in ‘let us fear,’ the author enlists the audience to share his concern that some of them might apostatize and thus not only fail to enter into God’s rest but also influence others not to” (Gundry 2010: 880).

2012: 154–155.

2013: 132.

2012: 155. Note: the “pastor” is the author of Hebrews.

2012: 202. “The larger context and the use of both the wilderness generation and the faithful of chapter 11 as examples indicate that the opposite of ‘having falling short’ is ... perseverance in faith and obedience until final attainment” (co*ckerill 2012: 202, fn. 25).

co*ckerill 2012: 201–202; Osborne 2021: 83; Oropeza 2012b: 21, and fn. 87; Anderson 2013: 135; Whedon 1880: 67.

Anderson 2013: 128. We are following the translation provided by co*ckerill (2012: 195).

position of the verb [fear, Greek: is emphatic in the structure of the sentence” (Lane 1991: 1:93). “The aorist hortatory subjunctive, [for fear], is ingressive—‘let us begin to fear’ in a way we haven’t feared before (Lane, 1:93)” (co*ckerill 2012: 201, fn. 20). A number of translations rightly use: “fear” cf. “let us be terrified,”

2013: 127. Why does the author use the people of God of old as examples of those who actually failed to enter into God’s promised rest through unbelief and disobedience if it is not possible for believers to fail to enter due to following their bad example? If it is impossible for believers to fall short of God’s promised rest due to unbelief and disobedience as Calvinists argue, then there is absolutely nothing for believers to and we are left wondering why the author exhorts them to fear falling short when he knows that it is impossible for them to do so?

‘rest’ is available and its loss a true possibility” (co*ckerill 2012: 201).

2016: 86.

2013: 132.

(1937: 139) says being diligent refers to “the clinging to the Word in diligent faith.” Dana Harris (2009: 183) rightly notes “the audience is on the ‘very threshold’ of entering the promised rest, but they must also be diligent to enter that rest by persevering in faith.” Cf. Osborne 2021: 89.

“diligently striving” is not salvation by works but by since the author has already stated in verse 3: “For we are in the process of entering this rest, we who have believed” (translation by co*ckerill 2012: 195). “The pastor would emphasize the importance of faith and spur his hearers to perseverance by reserving ‘we who have believed’ for the end of the sentence.” “This relative clause translates a substantive aorist participle. The aorist is constative, asserting that a life evidencing trust in God’s power and promises is characteristic of those who are on their way to ‘rest.’ The pastor would encourage his hearers by affirming that they are such people. This affirmation is a perpetual encouragement for all who are living the life of faith to continue therein. Past belief is no guarantee of entrance but a spur to continued faithfulness, as v. 11 makes clear (cf. 10:32–39)” (co*ckerill 2012: 205). Cf. Osborne (2021: 84–85), who notes that final entrance into God’s rest (i.e., “eternal life in heaven,” 83) is “a pilgrimage,” “a lifelong process rather than a one-time event at conversion” and demands “a life of ongoing faith and obedience.”

2009: 360.

scholars/commentators described this rest as Calvin 1853: 97; Barnes 1855: 118; Pink 1954: 195; Bauer, EBT 750; Outlaw 2005; 73; Schenck 2003: 62; Stamps 1992: 1951. Kretzmann 1922: 449, 450. A Schreiner 2015: 143; Gundry 2010: 881; France 2006: 61, 62; Lightfoot 2002: 58; Milligan 1973: 159; Whedon 1880: 67; Lenski 1937: 127, 130, “God’s heavenly rest”). A Attridge 1989: 123; but he goes on to explain: “It is the process of entry into God’s presence, the heavenly homeland (11:16), the unshakable kingdom (12:28)” (Ibid., 128; cf. McKnight 1992: 341, fn. 41, “eternal salvation in the presence of God”). A co*ckerill 2012: 198, 199, 201, 537, 670; J. Thompson 2008: 96; Alford 1872: 637; Bruce 1990: 111. The of Chrysostom, “On the Epistle to the Hebrews 6.1,” and Oecumenius, “Fragment on the Epistle to the Hebrews 4.9–10,” both found in the Ancient Christian Commentary: 2005: 60, 61.

335: “Metaphorically ... the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells, and which he has promised to make persevering believers in Christ partakers after the toils and trials of life on earth are ended.” Strong’s 2097: “the quiet abode of those who will dwell with God in heaven, in allusion to the Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:1, 3, 10, 11)” Robinson 386; Bloomfield 207). Otfried Hofius, EDNT 2:266 sees katapausis “as the eschatological resting for God’s people that they will enter “at the day of salvation” if “they, unlike the wilderness generation (Num 14), hold unwaveringly to the word of promise in faith and obedience.” Renn (335) thinks it is clear from the context that entering God’s rest “denotes eternal rest with God and Christ in heaven.” Renn (817) goes on to explain that “land” in the old covenant era was an important symbol of “rest” for God’s people, but this is transformed in the era of the new covenant where “rest” for followers of Jesus is understood as their everlasting inheritance in the heavenly city of Jerusalem (which is equivalent to the new heaven and new earth in the book of Revelation). Enjoying this place of “rest” is solely determined by whether a person is trusting in Jesus.

2013: 131–132. See also Attridge 1989: 128; deSilva 2000: 163; co*ckerill 2012: 198, 199, 201, 536–537, 670; Schreiner 2015: 134; Schenck 2003: 63; J. Thompson 2008: 96; Stewart 2010: 552.

2003: 61; cf. J. Thompson 2008: 96; deSilva 2000: 163; co*ckerill 2012: 65–70.

2012: 65. Oropeza notes: “If ‘rest’ is essentially the state of completion at the end of the believers’ metaphoric journey when they experience glorification and inheritance in the presence of God and when heavenly ‘Zion’ is fully realized (cf. 12:22–28; 13:14), then failure to enter rest would thus be equated with the loss of final or “final salvation” (2012b: 29, 23). Osborne (2021: 94) rightly states that “failing to enter God’s rest is eternal damnation.”

this rest is “already, but not yet,” or a wholly future heavenly rest with God makes little difference to our overall interpretation. This “rest” is a part of the language of final salvation with God that the author uses throughout the book to inspire believers to keep persevering in faith. What we can rule out with this “rest” language is that it refers to ruling with Christ in an earthly “Millennial kingdom” as some eternal security adherents have argued. Aside from reading nothing in book of Hebrews even hinting at “rest” = the Millennial kingdom on earth, David deSilva (2000: 157 f.) provides a thorough and persuasive rebuttal to this view. As deSilva points out, this view appears dictated more by one’s desire to protect the doctrine of eternal security than being derived from the immediate and larger context of Hebrews.

2005: 73; Anderson 2013: 127; Laansma 1997: 317; Oropeza 2012b: 22.

to persevere in faith and in obedience to Jesus results in the failure to reach the eternal promised rest of heaven” (Stamps 1992: 1951).

2012: 195, emphasis added. “Their example constitutes a warning against ‘falling,’ a widely used metaphor for apostasy” (Grindheim 2023: 256).

we must not join in their example, but be “imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises” (6:12, as exemplified by those in chapter 11.

363. “In Hebrews 4:11 falling is the result of disobedience, and means apostasy” (Bauder, NIDNTT 1:611; So Miller 1988:122). Paul Barnett (“Apostasy,” in DLNTD 75) rightly sees “fall away” Hebrews 3:12) and “fall” 4:11) as “the vocabulary of apostasy” in the book of Hebrews. Cremer (497) sees piptō as a “fall” in a [salvation] sense.”

see this disobedience of unbelief, which can lead to this “fall,” as being equivalent to the unbelieving heart that can lead to “falling away” or apostatizing from God in 3:12.

2012b: 21–23.

this chapter we see a faith that acts; we see the ‘obedience of faith’” (McKnight 1992: 32).

follows is inspired from Easter (2014: 199) with our own modifications and additions.

using ‘place’ for Abraham’s God-directed destination instead of ‘land’ the pastor prepares his hearers for the fact that this ‘inheritance’ is not the earthly Promised Land but an eternal dwelling place.... [Abraham] anticipated God’s permanent ‘City’ to come (v. 10)” (co*ckerill 2012: 539).

works understand “eternal salvation” here as referring to “Messianic and spiritual salvation” (Abbott-Smith 437–438; Thayer 612; cf. Renn 853), that is “supernatural-eschatological” in essence (K. Schelkle, EDNT 3:327; cf. BDAG 986; Renn 853), and experienced “only in connection with Jesus Christ as Savior” 986; cf. Renn 853; Gingrich 213). This salvation involves “deliverance from punishment and misery as the consequence of sin, and admission to eternal life and happiness in the kingdom of Christ the Savior” (Robinson 706; Strong’s 2161).

2005: 102. “The present participle describes their constant obedience” (Lenski 1937: 167) and implies “that it is not just a single act of obedience which is required, but a constant attitude of obedience” (Banks, Persevering 30). “As Wescott observes, ‘continuous active obedience is the sign of real faith;’ and this applies quite pointedly to the recipients of this letter whose obedience shows signs of wavering. Here again, then, they are being reminded, as previously they have more forcefully been reminded (cf. 2:3; 3:12ff.; 4:11), that this great salvation belongs only to those who persevere in obedience to Christ” (Hughes 1977: 188).

1937: 167.

sees no saving faith apart from obedience.... Final salvation is conditional upon the exercise of an obedient faith . . .” (Colijn 1996: 574, 584). “The implication is clear. Those who do not continue to obey him ... forfeit their eternal salvation” (Claybrook 2003: 25).

agree with Anderson (2013: 18) that the Christian community should have a healthy, fearful concern for one another in their pilgrimage towards final salvation with God (i.e., God’s promised rest). Engaging in mutual encouragement, confession of sin, and being accountable to fellow believers is essential to avoid missing out on God’s heavenly rest through developing an unbelieving heart. Today’s small groups help to foster deep relationships where believers show concern for the spiritual well-being of others and stimulate strong, growing, and persevering faith among believers.

2013: 56, emphasis added. “It [i.e., apostasy] is a sin only a Christian can commit” (Lane 1985: 94). According to the warning passages in Hebrews it is clear that “believers can lose their faith and forfeit final, eternal salvation” (McKnight 1992: 24). Thus, Stewart (2010: 559) rightly concludes in his excellent article concerning salvation in Hebrews: “There will be no salvation in the day of the Lord for those who do not have faith in God or who have abandoned their faith. It can therefore be said that final salvation is dependent on persevering faith. The necessity of the perseverance of faith for the attainment of final salvation pervades the entire book (2:3; 3:6, 12–14; 4:1, 11; 6:11–12, 18; 9:28; 10:23, 35–36; 12:1, 3, 12), explains the urgency of the warning passages, and is the motivating force behind Hebrews’ hortatory strategy.”

R. Williams 1996: 2:134–135, emphasis added.

some commentators see apostasy in Hebrews as a returning to we find this understanding unhelpful McKnight 1993: 40–41, and 40, fn. 67). As McKnight (1993: 40, 41) states: “the author of Hebrews is not concerned to present to his readers what they were going into” if they apostatized from the living God and His Son. He was more concerned “what they might give up” (quoting Attridge here)—i.e., a life-giving and saving relationship with God the Father, His enthroned Son, and the eternal Spirit who makes them holy.

“Apostasy,” in DTIB 60.

SIXTEEN

Shall Never Thirst

To Timothy at Ephesus, the apostle Paul wrote, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1Timothy 5:17).

The saints are much in debt to the men and women of God who diligently labor in the preaching and teaching of the holy faith. Great are their responsibilities, for their task is fraught with grave eternal consequences. To expound the saving Word to immortal souls, who, according to their understanding and response to that Word, will forever dwell in the light of life eternal or in the shades of second death, is not a task to be lightly assumed. “My brothers and sisters,” cautions James, “not many of you should become teachers ... because you know that we will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1,

For the exacting task of the exegete, a knowledge of grammar is an essential tool. But grammar alone is not a sufficient guide. There are other important considerations, especially the matter of context. And there is a sense in which the entire canon of holy Scripture must be regarded as “context.” No verse or passage of Scripture may possess a meaning contrary to the total revelation of all of Holy Writ. Overlooking the implications of the fact that all the Bible is “context,” many capable scholars have erred in their interpretation of important passages.

In his book Treasures from the Greek New Testament for the English Dr. KennethS. Wuest writes:

“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13, 14).

The first occurrence of the word “drinketh” is in a construction in the Greek which refers to continuous action, and the second use of the word in the original presents the mere fact of the action without reference to the progress of the action. The fuller translation therefore reads, “Every one who keeps on constantly drinking of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever takes a drink of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst.”... The person who keeps on drinking of the wells of the world, lifeless, dull, brackish, polluted, stale, will thirst again. The world with all its sin does not satisfy, never can. But the person who takes one drink of the spring of eternal life never thirsts again.

The reason why one drink satisfies is that when the sinner takes one drink of eternal life, that one drink becomes in him a spring of water leaping up into a fountain of eternal life.... The one drink itself is a spring that ever keeps bubbling up, ever refreshing and satisfying the one who takes a drink of the water of

Dr. Wuest’s interpretation implies that a moment’s act of faith in Christ effects a state of grace that is self-perpetuating and irrevocable. The total context of Scripture, however, affirms that while the divine provision of grace is constant and perpetual, man’s appropriation can only be progressive rather than once-for-all as the act of a moment. The initial act of appropriation is essential, but it must subsequently be continually implemented, and such is not inevitable. Dr. Wuest’s interpretation rests on an assumed significance of the juxtaposition of the present participle “drinking” (v.13) and the aorist subjunctive “drinks” Such a construction is sometimes significant, but not always, and certainly not in the present instance. It is the from the aorist [that] is exegetically more significant than the presence of the

Dr. Wuest’s interpretation is possible from the standpoint of grammar. But while it is possible, it is not authorized, for there is another interpretation equally warranted by grammar. Furthermore, the other interpretation is positively required by a consideration of other Scriptures. We shall establish two facts: (1)that there is nothing in the language of verse 14 to limit the drinking to a single, once-for-all act; and (2)that a consideration of other Scriptures requires that the drinking be viewed as an extended, progressive action.

1.As Dr. Wuest rightly asserts, an aorist “presents the mere fact of [an] action without reference to the progress of the action.” The action represented by a given aorist “may be momentary, singular, or ‘once and for all,’ but it is not the use of the aorist that makes it A.T. Robertson declares:

The “constative” aorist just treats the act as a single whole entirely irrespective of the parts or time involved. If the act is a point in itself, well and good. But the aorist can be used also of an act which is not a point. This is the advance that the tense makes on the verb-root. All aorists are punctiliar in statement (cf. Moulton, p. 109). The “constative” aorist treats an act as punctiliar which is not in itself

This latitude of the aorist is found in the dependent moods, as well as in the indicative:

The aorist of the dependent moods represents the action expressed by the verb as a simple event or fact, without reference either to its progress or to the existence of its result. As in the Indicative the verb may be indefinite, inceptive, or resultative, and when indefinite may refer to a momentary or extended action or to a series of

Robertson cites a number of examples of aorists used to represent action requiring extended periods of time, among which is John 7:9: “After saying this, he remained aorist) in Galilee” (cf. John We find in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” an aorist that covers the entire earthly life of

Obviously, aorists may represent actions requiring extended periods of time. It is, therefore, unwise in any instance to assume, without corroborative evidence, that the action represented by an aorist is necessarily point-action. Unfortunately, translators and exegetes have sometimes allowed the distinction between aorists and present-linear tenses to impose requirements upon aorists that are They have sometimes assumed that the contrast between aorists and linear tenses requires aorists to specify point-action. But aorists only constitute mere assertions of fact without precise definition. True to the name, aorists simply declare the fact of an action without specifying whether the action is punctiliar or Daniel Wallace asserts, “The aorist normally views the action as a taking no interest in the internal workings of the actions. It describes the action in summary fashion.... This is by far the most common use of the It follows, then, that “contextual factors are primary for any attempt to go behind the aorist to the nature of the action

The use of both an aorist and a durative tense may indicate no contrast whatever, even when used in immediate proximity. In 1Corinthians 10:4, we find the same Greek word used interchangeably in the aorist and imperfect tense. The aorist “drank” declares the fact that the Israelites drank of the water of life from the Rock (Christ) that followed them, without specifying whether the drinking was a single act or a durative process. But the imperfect “they were drinking” specifies that the drinking was not a momentary act, but an extended process. Both the aorist and the imperfect have reference to the same act of drinking from the Rock. Obviously, therefore, the aorist “drank” has reference to an extended process, rather than to a single momentary act.

It is thus evident that, while the aorist subjunctive “drinks” in John 4:14 does not specify durative action, neither does it in any wise forbid it. There is nothing in the language of John 4:14 to limit the drinking to a momentary, once-for-all act.

2.Let us consider another invitation of Jesus, virtually identical to His invitation to the woman of Sychar, which requires that the act of drinking in John 4:14 be viewed as progressive, rather than a momentary, once-for-all act:

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37–38, emphasis added).

The use of the present imperative pinetō in verse 37 is significant, especially in view of the prevalence of the aorist imperative in the New Testament. Concerning the distinction between aorist and present imperatives, Daniel Wallace states, “With the the force generally is to command the action as a without focusing on duration.” It simply “puts forth a summary With the the force generally is to command the action as an ongoing William Mounce agrees, “The imperative built on the present tense stem is called the present imperative and indicates a continuous Wuest nicely brings out the present imperative in verse 37: “If anyone is thirsty, let him be coming to Me and let him be (emphasis added).

It is obvious that the “drinking” to which Jesus called men in John 7:37 is not a momentary, once-for-all act, but an action that is to be ongoing. Language permits no other interpretation. We submit that if Wuest’s inference from the aorist in John 4:14 were correct, and a single momentary once-for-all act of drinking sufficed for all time to come, then the aorist should appear also in John 7:37 and in all kindred passages. This, however, is not the

Let us summarize. In John 4:14, we are confronted with an act of drinking that, according to language, may be either punctiliar or durative. In John 7:37, we are confronted with an act of drinking that, according to language, is definitely durative. We submit that the construction of John 7:37 necessarily governs the interpretation of John 4:14. The drinking of the water of life about which Jesus taught in John 4:14 and elsewhere is a continual, ongoing action, rather than a momentary, once-for-all act, as Wuest and others have interpreted it to be.

The supply of water drawn from Jacob’s well is soon exhausted, and one thirsts again and must return to draw a fresh supply. Thus, it is with all temporal satisfactions. But the living water that Jesus gives is inexhaustible. It is a living well within, springing up into everlasting life. The living presence of the Savior in the hearts of all who trust in Him continually satisfies the thirst and longings of the soul. But drinking the precious water of life the Savior bestows is not the act of a moment. It is a habitual sharing in the eternal life of God through a living faith in the living Savior. Charles Williams makes clear the condition for having this living water flowing from within: “Whoever continues to believe in me will have, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water continuously flowing from within him” (John 7:37–38, emphasis

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.... And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Isaiah 55:1; Revelation 22:17)

1943: 29ff.

the gospel of John, the Greek word for “drinking” or “drinks” is also used metaphorically or literally (depending on the context) in John 4:7, 9, 10, 12; 6:53, 54, 56, 7:37; and John 18:11.

1972: 231, emphasis added. So Black 2009: 14.

1972: 222.

1934: 832, italics his. W. Mounce 2003: 1940 says, “the aorist indicates an undefined action.” So Stagg 1972: 223.

1898: 46–47.

1934: 833.

1972: 228 notes:

A clear case of the aorist indicative for repeated action may be seen in 2Corinthians 11:24–25: “by the Jews five times I received (ἔλαβον) thirty-nine stripes; three times I was beaten with rods (ἐραβδίσθην), ... three times I was shipwrecked (ἐναυάγησα).” It would be nonsense to see point action here. These actions were not singular, momentary, or once-for-all. Not less nonsensical is it to elsewhere to build biblical interpretation or theology upon the fallacy that an aorist must imply a single or once-for-all occurrence.

Stagg wrote an article titled, “The Abused Aorist” 91 (1972): 222–231), in which he noted how some interpreters have abused the aorist in declaring that when it is used it refers to a “single action or even a ‘once-for-all’ action” (1972: 222). Daniel Wallace says that Stagg did seminal work to disabuse the aorist of this meaning, but he holds that he went a bit too far at times in his article (1996: 555, and fns. 7, 8).

Wallace 1996: 557.

1996: 557.

1972: 231.

1996: 485.

Mounce 2003: 311. Mounce adds, “you may want to use ‘continue’ or ‘keep on’ in your translation of the present imperative” (2003: 315).

his Expanded Wuest appropriately brings out the on-going action of the present participle for the metaphorical “drinking” of Jesus’ blood in John 6 that results in “having” life and “abiding” in Jesus (both present-tense verbs): “He who is eating my flesh and is drinking my blood is having life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day.... He who keeps on eating my flesh and drinking my blood, in me is continually abiding and I in him” (John 6:54, 56, emphasis added).

(1943: 576) says the present participle for “believing” in verse 38, “characterizes the person as one who continues trusting in Jesus” (cf. Horton 1965: 33).

SEVENTEEN

Born of God

It was night. No prudent man went about the dark streets of Jerusalem alone at night unless his mission was urgent. There were perils of robbers lying in wait in darkened doorways along the narrow streets, and of Roman soldiers who often were suspicious and impatient with men who ventured out at night.

But Nicodemus the Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin and a man of position in Jerusalem, had come to Jesus by night. Perhaps, more than robbers or Roman soldiers, he feared embarrassment in the eyes of his colleagues, should he be seen sitting as a learner before the strange young rabbi from Nazareth. Or perhaps the burning questions in his mind and heart would not allow him to rest until morning: Who is this Jesus who has such courageous zeal for the sanctity of the Temple—this doer of miracles who speaks with such evident authority? Can it be possible that He is actually the long-awaited Messiah of Israel? At least it seems evident that He is a teacher come from God! What can He tell us about the promised Kingdom?

To his surprise, Jesus began to answer his questions before he even had opportunity to frame them in words. But to Nicodemus, the words of Jesus seemed strange and mysterious:

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3–8)

Thus did Jesus disclose to a solitary inquirer the essential nature of the relation to God made possible for men through the redemption to be accomplished in Himself. There is another birth possible for a man who enters this world born of a woman—a birth from above, of the Spirit of God; a birth that enables man to be a part of the Kingdom and family of God and to share His eternal life.

“How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus. Gently, but firmly, Jesus reproved him for his apparent ignorance of the nature of the spiritual relationship of God and men who walk with Him by faith. “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” (v.10).

Although somewhat obscurely, the doctrine of a spiritual birth from above does appear in embryonic form in the Old Testament. Numerous passages disclose the nature of the spiritual relation between God and the faithful as being that of a father and sons and daughters, and certain passages imply a spiritual birth from above (cf. Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:6, 19; 1Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 82:6; 103:13; Isaiah 1:2; 30:1, 9; 43:6; 45:11; 63:8, 16; 64:8; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Hosea 1:10; Malachi 1:6; 2:10; Ezekiel 36:25–27; cf. John 3:5). Paul’s words in 2Corinthians 6:17 f. seem to be not a quotation from a specific passage or passages, but rather a sort of mosaic, which gathers together the essence of much that was said by the prophets that indicates the spiritual relation between God and believers is that of a father and sons.

Again Paul’s words in Galatians 3:23–4:7 disclose that believers under the Law were as much the children of God as are believers in the present era. The distinction Paul makes is not one of relationship, but only of position: believers under the Law were in the position of minor children subject to the supervision of the paedagogue (the Law), whereas believers now enjoy the position of mature sons who have attained their legal majority. The Old Testament faithful were children and heirs of God, and the New Testament concept of the family relation of believers to God, while more vivid, is not at all new. The fact of a spiritual birth in Zion, by the grace of God, for men born sinners, is beautifully portrayed in Psalm 87.

As “the teacher of Israel,” Nicodemus was justly rebuked for his apparent ignorance of the new birth. But the rebuke of Jesus did not imply that Nicodemus should have understood just how the Spirit effects the spiritual birth of men. The birth of the Spirit involves “heavenly things,” which lie hidden in the wisdom and power of God, things that are not intelligible for finite man.

Beneath all definitions [of the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration] there remains the mystery of life, and the mystery of the action of Spirit upon spirit. What this spiritually vivifying touch of God is, no man will ever know. Probably regeneration itself is never a matter of actual consciousness to a man. It is apparent in its consequences, but is not discerned in itself; hence we have no opportunity of examining it. The region lies deep in us, and the agent, the Holy Spirit, acts unseen, not calling attention to himself, and apparently not desiring to be seen in his inner working. Thus we have no material for a definition of regeneration from within. But this obscurity need not trouble us, for it is only the obscurity that hangs over all inner spiritual processes: we may trace their preparations, and follow out their consequences, but they lie too deep to be examined in

“You must be born again,” said Jesus. But the second birth is not something men must or can accomplish of themselves—something men can achieve and offer to God for His inspection and approval. Rather, it is a holy relationship with God wrought within the souls of men by the power of the Spirit, as men submit to the will of God through repentance and faith. And it is the essential circ*mstance in which men share the eternal life of God. Without it, there is only spiritual death.

“You must be born again!” The necessity of the new birth for the salvation of men is a powerful keynote of evangelism we dare not neglect. But let us take care that our preaching and teaching be scriptural, lest our emphasis be merely upon an overt experience rather than upon a holy relationship. Let us beware lest we convey the impression that the new birth is somehow an agent of salvation, rather than merely a It is Jesus who saves, rather than the new birth. Let us observe that the teaching of the New Testament concerning the new birth was given, not to evangelize the lost, but to instruct believers concerning the nature of their spiritual relationship with God through faith in Jesus The doctrine of the new birth does not appear in any of the discourses in the book of Acts, nor does it figure prominently in the epistles, with the exception of 1John. All that is said concerning it is directed to believers who already have come into such a holy relationship.

Let no one minimize the reality or importance of the regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit in the new birth whereby one is made a “new creation in Christ.” But the new relationship thus effected is not irrevocable, according to the many solemn warnings against apostatizing and the New Testament record of actual instances of apostasy. While the doctrine of the new birth cannot be overemphasized, unfortunately it can be misconstrued.

A popular and serious error is the assumption that an equation somehow exists between physical birth and spiritual birth: whatever is intrinsic in physical birth is equally intrinsic in spiritual birth; whatever may be predicated of one may likewise be predicated of the other. Laboring under such erroneous assumption, many have concluded that spiritual birth, like physical birth, is necessarily irrevocable. “If one has been born,” they ask, “how can he possibly become “I may be a wayward, disobedient son,” say they, “but I must forever remain my father’s own son.” In defense of what seems to them to be an obviously logical conclusion, they have proceeded in good conscience to impose unwarranted interpretations upon many simple discourses of Jesus and upon many plain, explicit warning passages in the New Testament. After all, the Scriptures must agree! But consider the essential differences between a person’s physical birth and spiritual

Physical Birth

•no physical existence before given

•motherhood plays a role in birth

•no choice as to who will be the Father

•no conditions to meet to receive life

•not responsible for one’s actions after birth (baby)

•not responsible for feeding oneself (baby)

•has life independent of parents

Spiritual Birth

•physical existence before given

•motherhood plays no role in “birth”

•grace enabled choice as to who will be the “Father”

•conditions to meet to receive

•responsible for one’s own actions after “birth”

•responsible for “feeding” oneself

•has no “life” independent of parent

Of these stark differences, let us highlight a few.

1.In physical birth, the person has no knowledge about the existence of their father, and no choice as to who is going to be their father, whereas in spiritual birth, the person must have a knowledge about God the Father (via the Scriptures, God’s Son, and the convicting work of the Spirit), and they must use their grace-enabled power of choice to receive God as their spiritual Father through trusting in His Son.

2.In physical birth, the person receives a life independent of his parents. They may die, but he or she lives on. But in spiritual birth, the person receives no independent life. He or she becomes a partaker of the life and nature of Him who gives new birth—a participant, by faith, in the eternal life of God the Father, through His Son, and by the power of the Spirit.

In view of the obvious essential differences, it cannot be considered strange that spiritual birth, unlike physical birth, is not It is folly to assume that an equation exists between physical birth and spiritual birth, and that whatever is intrinsic in physical birth is equally so in spiritual birth. Physical birth and spiritual birth are equally real, but essentially different. While an analogy exists between the two, there is no equation whatever.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Jesus doubtless sensed in Nicodemus the presence of a serious misapprehension common among the Jews: the assumption that to have been born a descendant of Abraham after the flesh somehow ensured spiritual kinship with Abraham and with God Himself (cf. John 8:33–42). But the relationship between God and the faithful is a matter of spirit rather than flesh. While the physical relationship between fathers and sons cannot be annulled, the spiritual union of earthly fathers and sons can be destroyed (and, tragically, sometimes is). The relationship between men and God, as their Creator, cannot be annulled, but the holy relationship that God desires to enjoy with men is of the spirit, rather than the flesh, and it is conditional and not indissoluble during man’s probationary sojourn on earth in God’s moral universe.

Many are accustomed to think of the new birth exclusively in terms of an immediate transformation wrought by the Spirit when the conditions of repentance and faith are present in an individual. This, of course, is a concept true to the Scriptures. But although true, it is not the whole of the truth. The new birth is a spiritual relationship between God and man that begins with the regenerating work of the Spirit when man yields to the will of God through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and that is sustained by the Holy Spirit as the individual continues in repentance and faith. The beginning is essential, but it is not the whole.

Consider John 1:12: “But as many as received Him aorist indicative, a definite act in past time—conversion] to them He gave aorist indicative, a definite act in past time—conversion] the right to become aorist infinitive] children of God, to those [believing, present present-progressive action—perseverance in in His John clearly depicts both the initial act of faith at the reception of Christ, whereby the relationship is effected, and the persevering faith in Him whereby the relationship is Matthew Vellanickal, in Divine Sonship of Christians in the Johannine is in agreement when he notes that the Greek verb for received is an aorist indicative, but the Greek verb for believing is a present participle, which ordinarily signifies “continuous action.” “Both phrases refer to those to whom the power is given to become children of God.” “If verse 12a speaks of men as having received” Jesus, the Son of God, “at a definite time in the past, v. 12c describes them as continuing or persisting in that reception and

To think of the new birth exclusively as a transformation wrought by the Spirit at the moment of conversion is to have an inadequate concept of the doctrine as defined in the holy Scriptures. There are two aspects of the new birth: the initial experience (conversion) and the sustained relationship Of the twenty times in which the New Testament refers to the fact of being born of God and seven instances are perfect participles and three are perfect indicatives, emphasizing the sustained relationship aspect of the new Of the other ten instances, one is almost certainly a reference to Jesus (1John 5:18, and another is very possibly a reference to Jesus (John 1:13), leaving eight, nine, or possibly ten instances that emphasize the initial experience aspect of the new birth.

The noun anakainōsis (renewal, renovation) is associated with a punctiliar verb form in Titus 3:5, referring to the initial experience aspect of the new birth, and with a durative verb form in Romans 12:2, emphasizing the sustained relationship aspect. The verb anakainoō (make new) is durative in both 2Corinthians 4:16 and Colossians 3:10, emphasizing the sustained relationship aspect of the new birth.

The new birth must have a beginning. It must begin with a definite conversion experience (which, according to circ*mstances, may or may not be spectacular) wherein the individual, repenting and receiving Christ as Savior by faith, is made a new creation in Christ by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. But from the moment of inception, the new birth stands as a present relationship to be sustained by the Holy Spirit through a life of faith. This life of faith is emphasized by Jesus in the gospel of John:

“The Light is among you for a short time longer. Be walking while you have the Light, in order that darkness may not overtake you. Indeed the one walking in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the Light, be believing in the Light, in order that you may become sons of Light.” (John 12:35–36,

The “Light” is Christ (cf. John 1:9; 3:19–21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46), and thus, to become “sons of Light” is equivalent to becoming “children of God” (John Just as “believing” was the condition for becoming a son or daughter of God in John 1:12, so it is here. “That which makes ‘sons of Light’ is faith in Christ the The present-imperative verb for “be believing” “expresses an action that is to be continued. So the faith required is a ‘life of faith’, and not a single act of faith.... The verb may become] ... points to a ‘becoming sons of Light’ that is to be realized as a result of the life of

We should mention that of eight references in 1John to the fact of the believer’s being born of God (considering that gennētheis in 5:18 refers to Jesus), four are perfect participles, and three are perfect indicatives. John’s emphasis is on the new birth as a present relationship, rather than as a past event. But again, there are specific conditions essential to the sustaining of the relationship.

An important truth concerning the conditional aspect of the new birth is found in 1John 3:9: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God” First, what is the meaning of “cannot sin”? Certainly it does not mean “cannot commit a sin,” for this would contradict John’s own statements (1John 1:8–2:2) and the consistent testimony of the Scriptures. As Robertson affirms, “the present active infinitive hamartanein can only mean ‘and he cannot go on This is consistent, not only with grammar, but with the uniform teaching of the New Testament. The ESV has “No one born of God makes a practice of

But how is it true that one who is born of God does not make a “practice of sinning”? Is it an absolute impossibility that he should begin to practice sinning? Obviously not, for there are many warnings directed to believers about persisting in sin that can lead them to committing apostasy and being excluded from God’s presence and Therefore, since it obviously is not an absolute impossibility, it is instead a relative impossibility. Thus, for one to “stand born of God” (a literal rendering of the perfect participle and to “practice sinning” is a moral and spiritual incompatibility. The two conditions cannot coexist.

It is evident, therefore, that the circ*mstance, cannot “practice sinning,” is not presented as an inevitable consequence of the new birth, but as an essential condition governing the continued realization of the new birth in the individual. A major thesis of 1John is the apostle’s insistence that there are specific conditions under which the new birth can exist, and other specific conditions under which it cannot exist (cf. 1:5–7; 2:3–11, 15–17, 24–29; 3:6–24; 4:7–8, 20–5:1). John insists that, apart from a sincere intention and endeavor to do good and to avoid evil, one cannot “stand born of God.” No one whose allegiance is to the world, the flesh, and the devil can “stand born of God,” sharing His divine nature and eternal life through His saving grace in

Chafer objects, “...to make sonship, which by its nature is and is a position before God which rests wholly on the merit of Christ, to be conditioned by and dependent upon human worthiness is to contradict the whole order of divine grace and to make impotent man to be, in the end, his own

First, we have already established from Scripture that trusting in the Son of God is a condition for becoming and remaining a child of God. Yet the Scriptures do not regard the human response of trust in Christ, which is itself enabled by God’s grace, to be opposed to salvation by grace or somehow making man to be “his own It is Chafer’s own view—one moment of faith forever secures one’s standing as a son or daughter of God—that is in direct contradiction to the testimony of the Scriptures.

One conditional aspect of being born of God is apparent in a comparison of the first clauses of verses 6 and 9 of 1John 3:

“No one who in him keeps on sinning.”

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning.”

What John attributes in verse 6 to “abiding in him” he attributes in verse 9 to being “born of God.” John thus implies that “abiding in him” and being “born of God” are equivalent. Thus we see that “abiding in Christ” is infinitely more than a matter of simply “fellowship” or “communion” as some suggest. It is nothing less than continuing “born of God.” To “stand born of God,” then, is a present relationship proceeding from the present condition of “abiding in Christ.” This is in full accord with our Lord’s teaching in John 6:54–56; 15:1–8.

Some appeal to the second clause of 1John 3:6: “no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him,” to contend that “Christians” whose lives do not accord with their profession are not men who have departed from Christ, but men who never have truly known Him as Certainly there are many whose professions of faith are false from the beginning. But there are others who depart from Christ after having truly known Him as Savior and Lord. Those who cite 1John 3:6b as evidence that all “Christians” whose lives contradict their profession necessarily are men who never have known Christ in a true saving relationship rest their argument, of course, on the English translation. But the English perfect is by no means the equivalent of the Greek perfect tense (“has seen,” heōraken and “has known,” The English perfect has but a single aspect, whereas the Greek perfect possesses two aspects. It is concerned, not only with the fact of an act in the past, but also with the fact that the results of that act continue to exist at the present moment. An act in the past, when considered entirely apart from the question of the continued existence of the results of that act, as of the moment of speaking, is affirmed by either the aorist or the imperfect. An expanded rendering of John’s words is, “whoever deliberately practices sin has not seen Him and continued seeing Him, nor known Him and continued knowing Him.” John’s statement is applicable to men whose professions of faith have been false from the beginning, and it is equally applicable to apostates who have departed from true saving faith in

Westcott asserts that John’s statement has no bearing on “the question of the indefectibility of grace. It deals with the actual state of the man. Past sight and past knowledge cease to be unless they go Lange considers that John has reference specifically to apostasy: “John’s idea therefore is this: Every one that sinneth, and that while he is sinning, is one in whom seeing and knowing Christ is a fact of the past, but without continuing to act and to last to the There is nothing about 1John 3:6b that affirms that “Christians” whose lives contradict their profession of faith are necessarily men who never have known Christ in a true saving relationship.

The first epistle of John depicts clearly the continuing conditional aspect of the new birth. Let us consider a logical syllogism derived from John’s assertions in 2:29–3:10:

Major Premise: All who stand born of God avoid habitual deliberate sinning (v.9).

Minor Premise: Only those who abide in Christ avoid habitual deliberate sinning (v.6).

Conclusion: Only those who abide in Christ stand born of God.

“Abiding in Christ” is more than a matter of fellowship, communion, and “the victorious life.” It is life itself. It is remaining in Him “who is our life,” and thus continuing to stand born of God. Surely, these considerations impart a deep sense of the awful solemnity of our Savior’s words in John 15: “Remain in Me, and I in you.... If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (vv. 4a, 6,

Despite the objections of Chafer and other sincere advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security, our sonship remains conditional throughout our earthly sojourn in God’s moral universe. Paul writes,

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children. And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)—if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:14–18,

Douglas Moo says,

We, “the sons of God,” are such by virtue of our belonging to the Son of God; and we are heirs of God only by virtue of our union with the one who is the heir of all God’s promises (see Mark 12:1–12; Gal. 3:18–19; Hebrews 1:2). ... This oneness means that we must follow Christ’s own road to glory, “suffering with him” (cf. also Phil. 1:29; 3:10; 2Corinthians 1:5).... The suffering Paul speaks of here refers to the daily anxieties, tensions, and persecutions that are the lot of those who follow the one who was “reckoned with the transgressors” (Luke 22:37). Paul makes clear that his suffering is the condition for the inheritance; we will be “glorified with” Christ (only) if we “suffer with him.” Participation in Christ’s glory can come only through participation in his

Our adoption into God’s family is something we have already received by virtue of having “received the Spirit of adoption” (v.15) or “first fruits of the Spirit” (v.23) at conversion. However, this adoption is not yet complete since “we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body” (v.23, cf. 8:11). This “hope” (vv. of receiving a glorified resurrected body necessitates that “we are eagerly awaiting it with endurance” (v.25, For this hope to be experienced on the day of Christ’s return—“the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30)—requires a persevering faith in Christ enabled by “the Spirit [who] helps us in our weakness” (v.26) while we make our way through this world that is subject to the bondage of death and decay.

Paul not only views sonship as conditional upon an enduring trust, so does the writer of Revelation:

The one who overcomes [“conquers” will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [or “share,” will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:7–8,

Keener (2000: 488–489) writes:

The promise that God will be his people’s God and they will be his people is the most basic component of the ancient covenant formula (Genesis 17:8; Ex. 6:7; 29:45; Lev. 11:45; 22:33; 25:38; 26:12, 45; Num. 15:41; Deut. 29:13). The prophets rehearse the same covenant formula (Jer. 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 31:33; 32:38; Ezek. 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:23, 27; Zech. 8:8). But Revelation slightly adapts it: He will be the overcomer’s God, and the overcomer will be his own child (Rev. 21:7). God had earlier declared Israel his children (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 32:19–20; Hos. 1:10; 11:1), but here in the end time he publicly honors individual believers as his own children (21:7; cf. Matt. 5:9; Rom. 8:19; 1John 3:2).

But note that this promise of being a child of God here (along with the various promises to each of the seven churches: 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21) is “literally the one overcoming or “The Greek word nikaō means ‘to be the victor,’ ‘to be victorious,’ ‘to overcome.’ The present participle implies continuous victory, ‘keeps on overcoming’ or ‘continues to be The promises to the one who keeps on overcoming, “which close each of the seven letters to the churches in chapters 2 and 3, refer to final salvation in the time of the new Thus, Christ-followers are “in the process of conquering” or overcoming, and they will only partake of the promises if they “carry out the process to its Overcoming/conquering in the book of Revelation is equivalent to “believing/trusting” in Jesus as seen in the writings of John and and thus refers “to an active trust in God that leads to faithfulness in the difficult situations of life lived for Simply put, “Conquering means persevering in Richard Bauckham adds:

But ‘conquering’ is not represented in Revelation as something to which only some Christians are called. The promises to the conquerors at the end of each of the seven messages to the churches present conquering as the only way for Christians to reach their eschatological [i.e., future and final]

This is especially brought out in the promise God gives to “the conquers” in 21:7, and the warning that confronts those in the process of conquering in Christians are faced with two choices: to “conquer” and inherit “the new and sorrowless world God has prepared for them (Revelation or become a “coward” and have their share in the lake of fire, which is the second If a child of God becomes a “coward,” by failing to persevere in faith, they have and become “an and “will join the unbelieving world in eternal Witherington notes:

Scholars have often pondered over the reason for the list in verse 8, but when one remembers that John’s audience is Christians under pressure and threat of persecution, cowardice and faithlessness to the Lord, either spiritually or ethically, must be censured.... The intended rhetorical effect of this verse was not to castigate the lost or gloat over their demise, but rather to warn the faithful of the dangers of spiritual and moral

Remaining a son or daughter of God is conditional throughout our earthly pilgrimage and “demands a day-by-day walk with God and dependence on his All who would desire to see the Kingdom of God will do well to ponder and heed all that the holy Scriptures declare concerning the new birth, which God, in mercy and love, has made possible for all, that they may be part of His everlasting Kingdom and forever share His own eternal life.

Clarke 1898: 397. We must reject many of Clarke’s views; but the above paragraph is excellent, and true to our Lord’s teaching in John 3:5–8.

insist that Nicodemus was not under saving grace at the time of his conference with Jesus is to assert that men could not experience salvation under the old dispensation, or that Nicodemus was unrepentant toward God and an unbeliever with respect to the way of salvation under the old economy (which remained valid until the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross). Such an assertion is contrary to John’s brief account of Nicodemus (3:1 ff.; 7:50 f.; 19:39–42), which indicates that he was a godly Jew of sincere faith whose heart was open to the truth. Jesus’ rebuke, “we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony” (v. 11 f.), is couched in the plural, indicating that the charge was directed, not against Nicodemus personally, but against the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin collectively and perhaps the Jews as a whole (cf. John 1:11). The fact that Nicodemus had come to Jesus as an earnest inquirer marked him as an exception to the prevailing attitude.

Despite the many sermons that have portrayed Nicodemus as a man “religious, but lost,” there is no warrant for assuming that Nicodemus was not in the circ*mstance of Zacharias and Elisabeth, who were “both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6). But his understanding of the nature of the spiritual relationship of God and the faithful was quite imperfect (vv. 3–13), and he had urgent need for instruction concerning the role of Jesus as the true sacrifice for sins and the sole object of faith for believers in the new economy so soon to supersede the era of Law (v. 14 f.), lest he stumble and fall through offense at Christ (Luke 2:34, Rom. 9:32f.) and, rejecting the Messiah at His appearing, become a branch “broken off because of unbelief” (Romans 11:20).

(2002: 168) rightly argues that if a believer “becomes an apostate [i.e., an unbeliever], that person does not become or she dies Prior to conversion people are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). Through apostasy [i.e., becoming an unbeliever], one returns to that spiritually dead state.”

of these differences are adapted from Dr. Wesley Gerig’s class notes at Summit Christian College: “Theology 467—Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology,” 209.

there is no prior knowledge of the Father.

knowledge of God the Father is required for receiving life (John 5:24; 17:3).

and faith are the conditions to meet—two sides of the same coin (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21).

(2002: 168) writes:

There is a problem with trying to make an absolute correlation between a spiritual relationship and a natural relationship. For if a spiritual relationship can never be broken, then it would be impossible for anyone ever to be saved. Note the following verses, where Jesus said, “You belong to your father, the devil” (John 8:44). Again, “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10). In Ephesians 2:1–3 Paul characterizes the unsaved as those who have walked according to the prince of the power of the air, as children of disobedience, and as children of wrath. If it is true that a spiritual relationship cannot be broken when applied to a “child of God,” then logical consistency would demand that “children of the devil” must always remain children of the devil. Thus, no one could ever become a child of God. “Once a child, always a child” is simply an invalid argument.

word in our passage is in a construction saying, literally, signifying an ongoing, breathing, continuing, personal relation)” (Bruner 2012: 32).

need for maintaining the faith is indicated by the overwhelming preference for the [Greek] present indicative or participle in referring to believing. This would indicate the dynamic character of faith in contrast to any static view.... [For example] John 1:12 says that the power to become children of God is given to those who continue to (Wynkoop 1972: 245).

believe in his name’ is shorthand for believing (and understanding) aspects of Jesus in terms of his identity, character, mission and intimate relationship with God [the Father]” (Bennema 2007: 25). “The righteous [in the OT] are to trust in God’s name; believing in Jesus’ name hence implies trusting in him as deity” (Keener 2003: 1:400).

is significant that, in the Greek text of John 1:12, three successive aorists are followed, not by an aorist participle, but by a present participle. A.T. Robertson quotes Broadus as pointing out that the Greek is “an aorist-loving language,” especially the koinē of the New Testament (1934: 831). It is therefore reasonable to assume that, when a New Testament writer adopts a more precise tense instead of the customary indefinite aorist, he does so for precision and emphasis. The switch from a succession of aorists to the present tense in John 1:12 is more than likely deliberate for emphasis of the durative quality of the faith that makes people sons of God. That emphasis is made evident in our essentially literal translations: “But as many as received Him, He gave to them [the] right to become children of God, to the ones believing in His name” NKJV Greek-English Interlinear New emphasis added).

1977: 138–139; cf. Westcott 1896: 9.

(1977: 140–141) observes that when John speaks of the moral and spiritual change that takes place in people he uses to become] in the aorist infinitive ... which is a form often similar to the future indicative.” This appears “to show that John considers the spiritual change in men, not as something static that takes place once for all at a definite moment in history, but as something that gradually takes place, and remains dynamic moving towards a final perfection.” Furthermore, whenever John applies “to become” to Christians it is seen as “a dynamic process of a continuous heading towards perfection in knowledge and adhesion to Christ. Thus in 12:36 it is a continuous dynamic adhesion to Christ ([be trusting/believing in the light]) that makes men ‘sons of Light’.” In John 15:8 we encounter a dynamic process as well as followers of Jesus “become disciples of Christ by means of a life that brings forth much fruit.” Abiding/remaining in Jesus in 15:4–5 implies dynamic/relational processes where disciples bring forth fruit through remaining in union with Christ. This remaining in union is not possible without disciples continuing to trust in Jesus (John 6:54–56). “This phenomenon of a dynamic adhesion to and union with Christ that always accompanies the process of becoming disciples, naturally points to the dynamic element of faith in becoming children of God in John 1:12.”

1:13; 3:3, 5, 6, 7, 8; 1Cor. 4:15; Phm. 10; Jas. 1:18; 1Peter 1:3, 23; 1John 2:29, 3:9; 4:7; 5:1 (three times) 4, 18 (two times).

perfect tense affirms not only the fact of a past event, but also the continued existence of the results of that event, as of the moment of speaking.

Vatican Manuscript reads tērei auton in place of tērei heauton (which most scholars regard as correct) making the aorist passive participle gennētheis a reference to Jesus, rather than to the believer (cf. Williams, Verkuyl,

(1977: 158) says, “...to become ‘sons of Light’ means to share in the life of the sonship of Christ.”

1977: 158.

1977: 158. Thus, “John 12:35–36 shows in a special manner the dynamism involved in the sharing of the sonship of Christ by believers through faith, as expressed in John 1:12” (Vellanickal 1977: 160).

WP 6:223.

one born of God ... “will continue to sin” “practices sin”

Matthew 5:27–30; Mark 9:42–48; Romans 8:12–13; 1 Corinthians 6:1–11; 1 Corinthians 10:1–12; Galatians 5:16–21; 6:7–9; Ephesians 5:3–7; Hebrews 10:26–31; 1 John 2:15–17; Revelation 21:7–8; 22:14–15.

of this truth would “rescue” many simple teachings of Jesus that advocates of unconditional security have discarded as “not applicable to the present dispensation.”

appears to reason from the erroneous assumption that an equation exits between physical and spiritual birth: “sonship ... by its nature is interminable.”

Systematic 3:225ff.

those who hold that salvation by faith implies, at least in some subtle way, salvation by works and thus, is opposed to salvation by grace, see the fine responses by Roger Olson, “Yes to Grace; No to Irresistible Grace/Monergism,” in Against Calvinism (155–174); and Robert Picirilli: “The New Testament and Salvation by Faith,” in Grace Faith Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism and Arminianism (169–182).

abiding in Him is not sinning”

have appealed to Matthew 7:23 to contend that all false prophets (vv. 15 ff.) and impostors are men whom Christ never has known, according to His statement, “I never knew you.” Let us observe that Jesus declared only that He would profess to them that He never knew them. Cf. Luke 13:25, 27, where Jesus warned His hearers that He would say of them, “I do not know where you come from”—which obviously could be true only figuratively, rather than literally (cf. John 8:23, 44). With respect to the people in view in Matthew 7:23, Jesus will deny acquaintance with all of them alike. But while His relationship with many of them never shall have been more than merely pretended and fictitious, His relationship with others shall have once been real (cf. 2Tim. 2:12, Revelation 3:5, 8–12).

1892: 104.

1867: 102.

1996: 505–506. Greathouse and Lyons agree with Moo’s comments and add that verse 17 makes clear: “Our union with Christ is not unconditionally guaranteed” (2008: 1:251–252).

is “Future-oriented faith—that sustains us in our present suffering and decay” and “is the believer’s confidence that God will fulfill his promises ... (Greathouse & Lyons 2008: 1:262, 266).

salvation remains contingent upon our perseverance in faithful waiting in the present” (Greathouse & Lyon 2008: 1:265).

“the one overcoming.”

2005: 147. “The present participle” nikaō is literally translated as “‘the one who is conquering’” (Smalley 2005: 64). Strauss notes nikaō is a present participle literally translated as “‘the one overcoming’” and thus, “The promises of the Lord are available only for” the person “who continually overcomes” (1963: 63).

2009: 112. “A man is constituted conqueror (present participle, of continuous action) by his continuing attitude and behavior, rather than by the circ*mstances of his physical death—though the coming crisis will indeed demand faithfulness unto death (2:10)” (Sweet 1979: 83).

1981: 237. This would be the view of nearly all commentators on the book of Revelation, with the exception of Moderate Calvinists. For example, Smalley 2005: 64 states that while the promises communicated in the seven churches differ slightly from one another, “each contains in some form the anticipation of eternal life [with God].” All the promises in chapters 2–3 find fulfillment in chapters 21–22, as Beale (1999: 1058) notes:

“the tree of life which is in the paradise of God” (2:7; 22:2), inclusion in the new temple (3:12; 21:22ff.), participation in “the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God” (3:12; 21:2, 10), the name of God on one’s person (3:12; 22:4), one’s “name written in the book of life” (3:5; 21:27), bright garments (3:5; 21:2, 9ff.; cf. 19:7–8), a bright stone and a luminary (2:17, 28; 21:11, 18–21, 23; 22:5, 16), consummate reigning with Christ (2:26–27; 3:21; 22:5), and exclusion from the “second death” (2:11; 21:7–8).

1981: 235. So Mulholland 1990: 96, fn. 9; Aune 1966: 136, 139. Aune notes that in Revelation “only the Church considered corporately can be designated as ‘eternally secure,’ while the individual believers who make of the Church maintain their position only as they remain faithful to their original commitment” (1966: 136).

Reasoner 2005: 147; Osborne 2002: 123.

2002: 123. We agree with Mulholland that “‘Conquering’ is the consequence of obeying what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (2011: 433).

2014: 800. Horton (1991: 311) says those who overcome/conquer do so “through persevering faith and obedience.” Thayer 426 defines nikaō as referring to “Christians that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and their temptations and persecutions.” To define “overcoming/conquering” as “persevering in faith” or “remaining faithful to Jesus till death” is given support in Revelation 2:10–11 (see our discussion in chapter 13).

1993: 92.

(2002: 741) argues that the “but” “that connects 21:7 with 21:8 should have its full adversative force,” especially since the author is “contrasting ... (‘the conqueror’) with ... (‘the cowards’).” Aune (1997: 3:1131) says “The term ‘coward’ here seems to be intentionally used as the antonym of ‘the conquerer’ in v. 7a.”

2000: 488.

Bauckham 1993: 92 and Osborne 2002: 123, 741–742. “All these promises [in Rev. 21:1–7] culminate, however, in a warning: Those who fail to overcome ... will be damned [as unbelievers] (21:8)” (Keener 2000: 489).

2011: 213. Cf. Keener 2000: 489.

2003: 331.

2002: 742. So Reasoner 2005: 530; Farley 2011: 213; Claybrook 2003: 331.

2003: 256. So Smalley 2005: 543. Cowards “are members of the church who have fallen away from Christ under the pressure of persecution” and “abandoned faithfulness” (Schlatter 2022: 443). The cowardly are “apostate Christians who, because of fear and/or cares of this life and love the world, have chosen self and earthly honor and security and riches over losing oneself in Christ” (Brighton 1999: 605). Cottrell (2020: 104) writes:

C. Spicq says this: “When Rev. 21:8 places the fainthearted and the unbelieving in the lake of fire, it has in view Christians during times of persecution who, out of a fear of suffering, renounce their faith. It is a commonplace that human courage and cowardice are revealed in the face of death” Lexicon of the New Hendrickson 1994: 1:301).... The issue is whether we will continue to trust in Jesus and in God’s sustaining power even in the face of persecution and death.

2002: 123.

EIGHTEEN

God’s Good Work

The once-popular American reality show Catch a Contractor had a simple format: meet with the homeowner and find out what work was contracted to be done; inspect the work and find out what the contractor was paid for their shoddy and typically unfinished work; and then use a private investigator to track down the crooked contractor. Once the contractor is found, the investigator lures the contractor to another house to bid on a phony job. Once in the house, the show’s hosts, Adam and Skip, confront the contractor with the facts concerning his unprofessional work with the homeowner watching from another room. The contractor is given three options: (1)return the money that the homeowner paid him (which has never happened); (2)go back to the unfinished job and complete the work properly under the supervision of Adam and Skip; (3)walk away and leave the work as is, in which case the homeowners would file a suit in civil court with the assistance of the show.

In most cases, the contractor agrees to fix what he messed up and finish the work he started. It is at this point in the show when things get interesting for the viewer. The homeowner gets to confront the contractor, and things usually get heated between the parties. Eventually the homeowner is put up in a hotel until the work is completed in a professional manner. Once the job is done, the homeowner gets to see the finished work, and usually the contractor will apologize for his actions.

Fortunately, God is nothing like these bad contractors. God does not do shoddy work, nor fail to finish what He starts in those who continue to trust in Him. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi and said that he was “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6,

This verse has traditionally been used to support “once saved, always saved” theology with the verse being taken to mean “God will infallibly complete His good work in me as an individual.” But there is a misunderstanding with this reading that Matt O’Reilly brings out:

The problem with this reading is that it neglects the fact that the English pronoun “you” can be either singular or plural. In Greek, though, there are two different words for you—one singular and the other plural. In Philippians 1:6 Paul uses the plural word for “you” The pronoun is the object of the preposition en which is often translated “in” but is able to function in a variety of other ways. One of the chief functions of this preposition is to indicate the location or sphere in which an event or action occurs. Thus, Paul could mean that the location where God’s good work will be brought to completion is the plural “you” that is the Philippian church.

If that is the intended sense, the verse could legitimately be translated: “The one who began a good work among you all will complete it until the day of Christ” (cf. The community of believers is the sphere where God is at work, and it is the sphere where his good work will be brought to eschatological [i.e., future and final] fulfillment when Christ This is a different matter than whether or not the good work is brought to completion in the life of an individual, a matter that is simply not addressed in Philippians 1:6. Paul’s confidence that God is at work in the Philippian church and will complete that work is grounded in that church’s participation in the ministry of the gospel (v.5). Even if some individuals fall away from the work, it does not mean that God’s purposes for the church as a whole corporate community will not be brought to perfection [or

Paul’s confidence for the Philippians was not based on some inexorable divine law that must continue operative regardless of the conduct of the Philippians. Quite to the contrary, his confidence stemmed from his observation of the personal conduct of the Philippians themselves. Many who have appealed to Philippians 1:6 in defense of the doctrine of unconditional security seemed to have also ignored the immediate and larger context:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation [or “partnership,” in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you [all] will perfect until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. (Philippians 1:3–7,

“For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all” (i.e., that God’s perfecting work in them would continue until the day of Christ) because of their past participation/partnership in spreading the Gospel message (v.5), and “their extension of that partnership to his imprisonment—and the defense of the gospel (v.7, anticipating vv.

There was every reason for Paul to believe that the faithfulness of God to bring to completion His good work among them would continue to meet with a corresponding faithfulness on the part of the Philippians themselves. This “good work” refers to God’s saving and transforming work “beginning with regeneration, continuing with the process of being made like Jesus both in his sufferings and his resurrection (3:10), and concluding with transfiguration, wherein the body is made like Jesus’ glorified body This final transformation will occur on the day that Christ returns—“the time when the salvation of believers, already inaugurated, will be

But God’s good work, far from alleviating the necessity of effort on their part, demanded their cooperation and perseverance in faith. Notice what Paul writes later in chapter 1:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction but of your salvation and that from For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1:27–30)

The Christians in Philippi are suffering persecution, but they need to be standing firm (by faith) in one spirit in the midst of their suffering for Christ and His Gospel (cf. 4:1). As Oropeza notes:

Such standing is the antipode of falling or committing apostasy, which in this case would mean rejecting the gospel faith as a result of persecution and so miss out on eschatological [i.e., future and final] salvation (1:28; 4:1).... The gospel faith in which the Philippians stand functions negatively as an “omen” ([endeizis, related to their opponents’ upcoming demolition, but it also functions positively as evidence of the Philippians’ salvation due to their persevering in faith (Phil

The need for persevering in faith is further emphasized in chapter 2:

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13,

David Garland (2006: 224–225) writes:

The command to “work out your salvation” suggests that salvation is “not only something they receive; it is something they (Fee, 234). Salvation is experienced in community ... and English translations may cause the reader to think that the “your” is singular and assume that Paul refers to each person’s working out his or her individual salvation. It would be incongruous, however, to tell the Philippians to concentrate on saving themselves after exhorting them to put all self-concern behind them (2:4). The heautōn (“your”) is plural, and salvation is understood corporately.... Williams, 137, recognizes that “even though the Philippians are expected to respond individually, the imperative has to do with what takes place in their community life, as they return to their common cause with regard to the gospel.” As Fee, 235, understands it, Paul refers to “the present ‘outworking’ of their eschatological within the believing community in Philippi.”

Many appeal to verse 13 (“for it is God who is at work in you”) as referring to God working irresistibly within believers to cause them both to will and to do His good pleasure. Since God’s working is said by some to be irresistible, then it would be impossible for believers to fail to work out their future and final salvation within the believing community. God’s irresistible grace ensures that believers will stand firm in the faith despite the pressures and persecutions they are encountering from a hostile world opposed to the message of Christ.

There is no question, “Were God and his grace not constantly working in the believing community in a powerful way, believers would not be able to obey this command of But the text does not say that God’s work in believers is one of irresistible compulsion. The Scriptures bear abundant testimony that, despite God’s gracious workings, believers can and do depart from His will and good pleasure. The warnings against so doing are many and urgent. God is graciously at work in His children. But His faithfulness in His work does not negate the essential importance and necessity of their obedient and faithful cooperation, nor does it in any manner irresistibly coerce or compel their This seems evident with the words “be working-out your salvation with fear and emphasis added). As Oropeza notes:

A striking parallel to Phil 2:12 is Ps 2:11–12 (LXX), a messianic psalm that charges the readers to “fear” and “tremble” before the Lord, lest he be angry and they be destroyed from the way of righteousness when his wrath is kindled. Paul is not concerned about modernistic notions of how politically incorrect he may sound when he intimates that his audience is to fear God; his concern is that the members of this congregation stand blameless on judgment day, and if stirring them up with a healthy dose of godly fear helps them to this end then his missionary efforts among them would not be wasted. The salvation in 2:12 ... most definitely includes the meaning implied in 1:28: exemption from the eternal destruction that will plague the opponents of the church on judgment

Another reason to see God’s work here as not being irresistible is seen in how highlights the necessity of perseverance for final in the verses that

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse [or “twisted,” generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. (Philippians 2:14–17,

Calvinist Thomas Schreiner gives convincing arguments that Paul is indeed calling for perseverance in faith here:

First, twice Paul speaks of working “in vain” in the verse.... The idea of a vain or futile ministry occurs when Paul considers the possibility of believers not continuing in the faith. Second, the warning against grumbling and complaining (Phil. 2:14) harks back to the OT and the grumbling of the wilderness generation (Exod. 16:7–9, 12; Num. 17:5, 10) and their failure to enter the promised land. The land promise in Exodus becomes a type of the future inheritance in Paul, and hence a connection is forged between Israel’s failure to enter the land of promise and the warning directed to believers.

Third, the words “blameless,” “innocent,” and “without blemish” are in the same semantic range and are used elsewhere in Paul to denote the godly character needed to obtain the final reward. Fourth, the expression “that you may be ... children of God” (Phil. 2:15) has an eschatological reference, designating the truth that those who continue to believe will be God’s children on the day of Christ. Such an interpretation is confirmed by the allusion to Deuteronomy 32:5, which again considers the rebellion of Israel: “They [Israel] have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.” Notice that Israel’s sin demonstrates that are not God’s children, but Paul admonishes the Philippians to hold fast to the word of life so that they will be God’s children. Moreover, Israel was blemished, but the church should remain unblemished. Finally, Israel was “a crooked and twisted generation,” but the Philippians are to distinguish themselves as righteous in the midst of an evil generation. The many points of contact between Deuteronomy 32:5 and Philippians 2:15 indicate that we have a call to perseverance in these verses.

Finally, the call to “shine as lights in the world” probably alludes to Daniel 12:3, where believers are to shine like lights. Those believers who shine like lights will “be delivered” (Dan. 12:1). They will rise “to everlasting life” (Dan. 12:2). Hence we have another piece of evidence supporting the claim that Paul exhorts the Philippians to continue in the faith to the end in order to receive the end-time reward of eternal

Paul is not finished with his call to perseverance. In chapter 3 (vv. 3–17), Paul bids the Philippians to follow his example (v.17) as one who perseveres in faith in Christ alone, to the exclusion of all confidence in his prior blameless keeping of the law as a Pharisee. Indeed, Paul considers...

all things to be loss because of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for the sake of whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them dung, in order that I may gain Christ and may be found in him, not having my righteousness which is from the law, but which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith, so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the Not that I have already received this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on [“but I am pressing-on,” if indeed I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have laid hold of it. But I do one thing, forgetting the things behind and straining toward the things ahead, I press on [“I am pressing-on,” toward the for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Therefore as many as are perfect, let us hold this opinion, and if you think anything differently, God will reveal this also to you. Only to what we have attained, to the same hold on. Become fellow imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who walk in this way, just as you have us as an example. For many live, of whom I spoke about to you many times, but now speak about even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is the stomach, and whose glory is in their shame, the ones who think on earthly things. For our commonwealth [“citizenship,” exists in heaven, from which also we eagerly await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our humble body to be conformed to his glorious body, in accordance with the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:8–21,

Paul is constantly running (by faith) in pursuit of receiving the prize. This “prize” of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus “is the prize of the call to resurrection, from the dead This is the significance of the adverb upward]: it is literally a call upward, a call to arise (cf. 1Thessalonians 4:16: ‘the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise Furthermore, in verses 20–21 Paul definitely has the resurrection in view with the coming of Christ to transform our bodies to be like His glorious resurrected

The Philippians are to imitate Paul’s life of humility, suffering for the Gospel, and perseverance in the metaphoric race to obtain the prize—resurrection from the dead in a glorified body. Full conformity to the image of Christ takes place at the end of the race, and if Paul perseveres by faith for such a prize, then they must as

But there are dangers in the race to receive the prize. Thus, Paul warns them to “Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh” (3:2). He warns them to avoid sensual apostates whose destiny is destruction and he exhorts them to “stand firm” (by faith) in the Lord

We should share Paul’s confidence in God’s power to complete the good work that He has started in us, but God requires a persevering faithfulness from us to complete this work. We can be certain that God’s good work will be completed in believers corporately, but is it possible for “the work of God” to be destroyed in the lives of individual believers? We will answer this question in the next chapter.

J. Thompson 2016: 29–30:

Paul’s imprisonment and the Philippians distress will not prevent God from bringing the community to the ultimate goal.... Paul indicates the collective identity of the church, declaring that God began a good work “among you.” He writes to the whole church, and he suggests that the church has a communal narrative that has a beginning, a middle, and an end.... God will bring the church to an end at the day of Christ (1:6; cf. 1:10). In the present, the church is being transformed into the image of God’s son (cf. Rom. 12:1–2; 2Corinthians 3:18) and sanctified by the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Thess. 3:11–13).... The occasion for the completion is the day of Christ ... the return of Christ.... The threatening forces surrounding Paul and the Philippians will not prevent their ongoing transformation, which continues until the time when they will be conformed to the image of the resurrected Lord (3:21).

O’Reilly, see article at http://evangelicalarminians.org/the-question-of-perseverance-in-philippians-16/

“will bring it to completion.” “will carry it on to completion.”

1995: 89. David Garland (2006: 193) writes:

“The gospel” comprises the message about what God has accomplished through the ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ.... Here the term “gospel” serves as shorthand for the work of making this message known to the world (1:12; 2:22; 4:3). The gospel joins them together in Christ, and their mutual commitment to its spread unites them ever more closely. The subtext might be that a fractured church can only threaten the gospel’s expansion across the world.

2008: 156. See also Fee 1995: 87; Marshall 1992: 11; Bruce 1989: 31–32; J. Thompson 2016: 29–30.

1989: 32.

salvation here is eschatological salvation when the Savior returns (Phil. 3:20).... The destruction is the eschatological wrath of God on the oppressors” (J. Thompson 2016: 55).

2012a: 205–206.

“be working-out,” “continue working out.”

2011: 159 notes:

The term sōtēria is of course much debated in this verse because some would see a certain reading of this verse as contradicting the Pauline doctrine of salvation by faith alone, thought to be obvious from other Pauline texts. Thus some have argued for the translation “well-being” with the idea that the word could have a social sense of bringing about harmony and well-being and spiritual health within the community. Silva, however, is correct that there are no certain example of that meaning of this word in the Pauline corpus.

Abbott-Smith (437–438) understands sōtēria in Philippians 2:12 as referring to “Messianic and spiritual salvation” Thayer 612). BDAG 986: with focus on transcendent aspects.... only in connection with Jesus Christ as Savior. This salvation makes itself known and felt in the present, but it will be completely disclosed in the future.” Strong’s 2161: “In the Christians sense, sōtēria is deliverance from sin and its spiritual consequences and admission to eternal life with blessedness in the kingdom of Christ” Robinson 706). The other Pauline references are: Romans 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 2Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 1:13; Philippians 1:28; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 3:15. In addition, Abbott-Smith (438) notes sōtēria as a “present possession”: 2Corinthians 1:6; 7:10; Philippians 1:19; 2 Timothy 2:10; and that which is “more fully realized in the future”: Romans 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:8, 9 Thayer 612; cf. BDAG 986). The only Pauline occurrence of sōtēria that some Greek reference works see as referring to a physical deliverance (in this instance, from imprisonment) is Philippians 1:19 (Strong’s 2161; Robinson 706). However, Moisés Silva (2005: 69–72) marshals compelling evidence from the context as to why sōtēria should be understood as spiritual salvation here as well.

is indeed talking about personal salvation, in this case sanctification and final salvation, and is saying that both the believer and God, and indeed the community collectively, have roles to play in this matter” (Witherington 2011: 159).

2011: 160. God’s grace energized Paul’s individual work in proclaiming the gospel is evident when he writes: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

(2012a: 218–219) writes:

As in 2:12, Paul is thinking primarily in terms of the community of believers in Christ in 2:13: it is through the corporate community that God fullfils his purposes. This is not a denial that God works his grace through individuals; it is merely an affirmation that Paul has the Philippian community foremost in mind. This church can be encouraged that it is not left alone in working out its own salvation. God is working in and through this congregation, and this community can expect God’s grace and Spirit to enable and empower it to continue in the gospel faith.

and trembling’ is in the emphatic position in the Greek, and so Paul is placing strong emphasis on this attitude” (Witherington 2011: 160).

2012a: 218. If Paul were a classical Calvinist who told congregations that some were unconditionally selected to be saved via irresistible grace and thus, eternally secure, how would anyone have any reason to “fear and tremble” in working out their final salvation within the corporate community?

2012a: 216.

commentators suggest that this “holding fast the word of life” carries more the idea of “holding forth” or “holding out” (in both word and deed) the gospel message that gives life to those who trust in Jesus. The thrust of Paul’s teaching then is on evangelism rather than perseverance (Fee 1995: 247–248; Bruce 1989: 85). While there may be an evangelism thrust here, we are more persuaded that Paul is primarily calling for believers to perseverance in faith for the reasons articulated by Schreiner.

2010: 22–23.

is “the future resurrection of believers,” “the final resurrection out of the dead referred to at the end of the chapter in (vv. 20–21; cf. Rom 8:23; 1 Cor 15:35–53; Phil 3:12–14; Gnilka, 197; O’Brien, 415; Martin 1976, 135; Bruce, 119; Hansen, 247; Bockmuehl, 218; Hawthorne, 201; Fee 1995, 336n68)” (Keown 2017: 178).

present-tense verb diōkō (“pressing-on,” vv. 12, 14, “denotes the constant pursuit of the goal” (Kent 1978: 146).

goal he pursues is resurrection, bodily transformation, eternal life, and fullness of relationship with Christ” (Keown 2017: 197).

prize encompasses most of the suggestions made by scholars, including ... resurrection, complete righteousness, moral transformation, eternal life, bodily transformation, and life with Christ (similarly Silva, 174). The prize is the fullness of eternal resurrection life” (Keown 2017: 194).

3:12–14, Paul is implicitly urging the Christians in Philippi to emulate his perseverance in striving to obtain the prize (Keown 2017: 197).

commentators and scholars rightly see the “prize” as referring to resurrection from the dead (Lenski 1937: 849; Blomberg 1992: 168–169; J. Thompson 2016: 102; Holloway 2017: 175; Harmon 2015: 358–359; Stauffer, TDNT 1:638; Ringwald, NIDNTT 1:649); which entails “final salvation in Christ” (Stamps 1992: 1875). “What constitutes the actual prize should be identified in the manner already explained: full knowledge of the Messiah, union with Messiah, and participation in the resurrection life of the age to come” (Zerbe 2016: 208).

1991: 77. We are convinced with Perriman (1991: 77; So Loh & Nida 1995: 112; J. Thompson 2016: 112; Holloway 2017: 175) that the prize of the upward call should be interpreted as a genitive of opposition: “‘the prize which is the upward call,’” the call to resurrection from the dead.

prize is explained as the heavenward call It seems best to take it as the call associated with resurrection.... Further, in 3:21, Paul mentioned the resurrection and the transformation that will occur then” (Melick 1991: 139). See also J. Thompson 2016: 112; Stettler 2004: 197–198.

paragraph follows Oropeza (2012a: 221–222).

a compelling defense that the “enemies of the cross” (Philippians 3:18–19) are likely former Christians who have committed apostasy, see Oropeza (2012a: 211–214).

(2012a: 217) writes:

The Philippians must continue in the gospel faith until the end; without doing so they might fall away and become another statistic among the “many” enemies of the cross of Christ. Paul knows very well that believers in Philippi could turn apostate not only by means of immoral living, as a number of former Christians have already done (3:18–19), but also by the possibility of abandoning Christ or Paul’s gospel through persecution (1:27–28) and following false teachers (3:2).

NINETEEN

Destroying God’s Good Work

For if your brother is grieved because of food, you are no longer walking according-to love. Do not be destroying with your food that one for whom Christ died.... Do not be destroying the work of God on account of (Romans 14:15, 20a)

These verses raise at least a couple of questions. How can one person’s eating of food contribute to destroying a brother for whom Christ died? Can such eating actually be destroying God’s work in them? How serious is this “destroying” that Paul is talking about here? Of course, before we can answer these questions, we need to see the larger context in which they are set.

Accept [“Receive,” him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle “cause of falling,” in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting [lit. “walking,” in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification [“building up,” Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Romans 14:1–23,

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. [“Receive,” Accept one another, then, just as Christ [“received,” accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.” Again, it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.” And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:1–13,

In Romans 14:1–15:13 Paul is addressing a serious problem that threatens relational unity among Christians in As Moo explains,

The command to “receive” fellow believers begins the section (14:1) and is repeated again at its climax (15:7). Paul accentuates the theme of mutuality sounded in this last verse—“receive one another”—with three other “one another” references: “do not judge one (14:13); “let us pursue those matters that lead to peace and to edification for one (14:19); “May the God of endurance and of comfort give to you the power to think the same thing among one another according to Christ Jesus” (15:5). These exhortations to mutual acceptance and concern are directed to two groups of Christians: those who are “weak in faith” (14:1; cf. 15:1) and those who are “strong in faith” (15:1). Two, and probably three issues divide these two groups: (1) the “strong” eat all kinds of food while the “weak” eat only vegetables (14:2); (2) the “strong” make no distinction among days while the “weak” value some days more than others (14:5); and (3) the “strong” drink wine while the “weak” abstain (14:21; cf.

This problem between the “weak” and the “strong” was “rooted in the differences between the Jews and “The ‘weak’ were mainly Jewish Christians who refrained from certain kinds of food and observed certain days out of continuing loyalty to the Mosaic With Paul having to exhort the Church to “receive” those who are “weak in faith” (14:1), it seems “clear that this group was in the minority. And, typical of such scrupulous minorities, these ‘weak’ Christians were ‘condemning’ those other Christians who did not follow their rules This other group, the “strong,” was likely comprised mainly of Gentile Christians. “They believed that the coming of Christ had brought an end to the ritual requirements of the Mosaic law; and, like many such ‘enlightened’ majorities, they tended to ‘despise’ and look down on the ‘weak’

When Paul says, “As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself” (14:14a; cf. 14:20; 15:1), he is agreeing in principle with the However, Paul does not go on to develop this point since

His concern is not so much with the “rights” and “wrongs” of this particular issue but with the “peace” and “mutual edification” of the body of Christ (cf. 14:19). And he makes clear that those who pride themselves on being the “strong” have a special responsibility toward this end. It is they, those who truly sense their liberty on these matters, who are to put their exercise of that liberty in perspective and to subordinate it to the far more important “good” of their fellow believers’ edification and salvation (14:15–21). In this they are to imitate their Lord, who subordinated his own interests for the sake of those—both circumcised and uncircumcised—that he came to redeem (15:3,

Paul’s call for mutual edification and peace among the believing community gathered in Rome falls into four sections. The one with which we are most concerned is Paul’s message in section 2 (14:13–23):

The “strong” Christians must be careful not to insist on exercising their freedom toward “weak” Christians on disputed matters, lest they become the catalyst for “weak” Christians to give up their faith, and thereby contribute to the destruction of the saving “work of God” in a fellow believer. For such insistence is contrary to kingdom living which is to manifest selfless love for one another as Christ displayed in His death for

This section has a parallel structure that ties together Paul’s

A Judging (v.13a)

B Stumbling block/cause of falling (v.13b)

C Clean/unclean (v.14)

D Destroying (v.15b)

E Peace and unity (vv. 16–18)

Eʹ Peace and unity (v.19)

Dʹ Destroying (v.20a)

Cʹ Clean/unclean (v.20b)

Bʹ Stumbling block/cause of falling (vv. 20c–21)

Aʹ Judging (vv. 22–23)

Paul begins with a transitional statement: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another” (v.13a, NIV1984 ), which is addressed to the “strong” and the “weak” Christian and sums up section 1 (vv. 1–12). “In a terrific play on words, Paul tells the strong that instead of ‘judging’ the weak, they must ‘decide’ not “put a stumbling block or cause-of-falling” in their weak brother’s way. To be a stumbling block is to be the of inducing [a person] to To be a cause of falling means to be “a temptation to sin, an enticement to apostasy and unbelief” (e.g., Matthew 18:7; Revelation 2:14; Romans 14:13;

Paul’s exhortation here “echoes the teaching of Jesus” (see Matthew 18:6–9; Luke 17:1–2; Revelation 2:14; cf. Matthew 13:40–42), “as well as the apostle himself” (see 1Cornthians 8:9–13; cf. Romans Both proskomma and skandalon are essentially overlapping in with both being captured in what Paul says concerning sin and unbelief in verse 23: “But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats [what he believes to be ‘unclean,’ cf. v.14b], because his eating is not from faith and everything that does not come from faith is

When the strong eat food in the presence of the weak that the weak consider to be “unclean” and wrong to eat, the strong are influencing their weak brother “to do the same thing, even though in his heart he believes it is which is sin The strong’s actions inadvertently lead “the weak brother to ‘fall into sin and potential spiritual ruin’ (Moo, 852), just by exercising his Christian Paul’s point is that Christians must be sensitive to how their actions can impact others and be willing to abstain from perfectly legitimate behavior if it has the potential of causing a fellow Christian to act in unbelief in sinning against their

When a believer is “fully convinced in [their] own mind” (v.5) that they are honoring the Lord by not eating certain foods, they should be able to follow their conscience without being looked down on by others. “Believers must be allowed to follow the Lord as they think best, even if that does not logically follow from biblical

The strong would be showing respect to the weak by not eating food at their fellowship times that the weak would view as wrong to eat. But it would be more than just showing them respect; it would be showing them love: “If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love” (v.15a, “Correct faith immediately becomes wrong when it violates love Love for another Christian’s “spiritual well-being is always more important than indulging the right to eat whatever one

But what does this “distressed” or “hurt” entail? Is Paul simply referring to hurting their feelings, or to doing some actual spiritual harm? The context suggests that lypeō refers to doing real spiritual What Paul has in mind “is not merely a passing sense of irritation or momentary pang of grief, but an actual wounding of conscience (Käsemann) which destroys the whole balance of the brother’s faith (cf. vv. 13, 15b, This brother’s saving relationship with Christ is thereby “put at and the rest of the verse (and its parallel) supports this understanding:

Do not be destroying with your food that one [i.e., that brother of yours] for whom Christ died. (14:15b,

Do not be destroying the work of on account of food. (14:20a, Thornhill)

Notice that Paul is commanding the strong to cease destroying (v.15) their weak brother whom Christ died for; to cease destroying (v.20) God’s saving work in their fellow brother over food. Paul most likely uses these present-tense imperative verbs “because he conceives of the spiritual destruction as a The strong are presently destroying their fellow brother’s faith relationship with God through their loveless and imperiling this saving This “destroying” is the opposite of the “building up” (v.19, that Paul is calling them to The strong have not yet contributed to the complete spiritual destruction of the weak, but if this movement into unbelief and sin is persisted in (v.23), then the weak Christian will eventually become an unbeliever (commit and share in the final destiny of unbelievers—“eternal destruction” (BDAG 115; Robinson

Paul’s word choice of apollymi in verse 15 is significant. Douglas Moo says whenever “Paul uses the verb with a personal object, it refers to spiritual ruin” or “ultimate spiritual destruction” (see Romans 2:12; 1Corinthians 1:18; 8:11; 15:18; 2Corinthians 2:15; 4:3; 2Thessalonians Moo (1996: 854) concluded: “Paul is warning the ‘strong’ that their behavior has the potential to bring the ‘weak’ to ultimate spiritual ruin—failure to attain final

Moo admits that “Romans 14:15 is another one of those warning texts that create problems for those of us who believe in the perseverance of the To solve this problem passage, Calvinists commonly assert that based on Roman 8:1, 28–39; Philippians 1:6; John 1:12–13; 5:24; 6:35–40; 10:27–30; Ephesians 1:13–14, and other passages, “the unchangeableness of a believer’s salvation in Christ are clearer and more dominant than those warning texts that may suggest the

Of course, we have already called into question whether these passages actually teach what Calvinists claim they do—the unconditional security of the believer due to unconditional election and irresistible Since we do not see unconditional security being taught in the New Testament, we cannot agree that such security passages should be allowed to “trump” the warning passages. The warning passages are every bit as “clear” and well represented in the New Testament as the security passages. Furthermore, the typical Calvinist responses given to harmonize the warning passages with the assumed unconditional security passages simply cannot be supported from the immediate or larger context. For example, Calvinists say one of three things about Romans 14:15:

(1) The “brother” was never saved to begin with.

(2) Yes, the brother is a Christian, but he experiences some sort of “temporary or “loss of spiritual

(3) The warning found here is the means God uses to ensure that believers conduct themselves in such as way so as not to cause another believer to commit apostasy from the Christian

We will respond briefly to each of these interpretations. To #1: Even Douglas Moo, who holds to this view, tells his readers throughout the body of his commentary that this issue over food involves Christians (both “weak” and “strong”). It is not until you read his footnote on Romans 14:15 that you find him suggesting that “brothers” in the New Testament can mean someone “who appears to be a believer,” but who has never been “genuinely regenerate” (or Surprisingly, Moo makes this assertion and then provides no scriptural citations to support his view. Even if he did, it would not change the fact that commentators overwhelmingly agree that Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:1–15:13, and especially 14:15, is directed specifically to not

To #2: The idea of “temporary ruin” or “loss of spiritual well-being” does not do justice to the very strong word choice of “destroying” that Paul uses in this context. Dunn (1988b: 821) states that “all recent commentators agree,” what we have here with apollymi is a final and future ruin, “the opposite of the final judgment of Cottrell (1998: 408) notes that in passages such as Matthew 10:28; Luke 13:3; John 3:16; and Romans 2:12, we find apollymi having “the sense of eternal destruction in hell.” This meaning is certain here due to the fact that Christ died for this brother—died to prevent them from experiencing eternal destruction in Cottrell says John Stott is on the mark in pointing out that a single sin by a Christian against his conscience does not in itself lead to eternal destruction, since Paul is not here referring to a single act of sin. “He has in mind the ultimate outcome to which a single act of this kind could potentially When a believer violates their conscience, it could eventually lead them to “give up their faith

For a believer to give up his faith altogether means that they would become an unbeliever and join other unbelievers in “perishing without salvation” (cf. 1Corinthians

In addition to Paul’s other word choices in this chapter (stumbling cause of are acknowledged by Calvinists to “reveal that the danger spoken of here is nothing less than eschatological judgment. ... The very salvation of the ‘weak’ was at When these spiritual dangers are combined with the fact that the strong’s actions are influencing a believer to act in unbelief in sinning against their then this conclusion is fully warranted and

To #3: Daniel Whedon provides a fitting response:

This passage [Rom. 14:15] belongs to that large class of proof-texts which show that a Christian may totally apostatize from a true faith, and so be finally lost [eternally as an unbeliever], by warning against that result as a confessedly and practically possible Such texts require us to fear such a catastrophe as what not only may happen, but for aught we know has often happened. The customary reply to this is that these warnings are the means to prevent that catastrophe, and God’s [irresistible] grace will take care that this shall always be successful. But if God has predetermined that no Christian shall ever fall, the very means used to prevent the fall are falsehoods. God’s predetermination eternally precedes the warning and falsifies it.... All these warnings are at once neutralized when the Christian has been told, “Do not be alarmed; God has determined from all eternity that you shall never fall [i.e.,

In light of the contextual evidence presented, Romans 14:13–23 “cannot be reconciled with ‘once saved, always The possibility of believers changing into unbelievers (committing apostasy) through unbelief (which can manifest itself in sinning against conscience, cf. 1Timothy 1:18–19) is clearly taught in this warning passage.

There is little doubt that Paul’s readers would have been stunned by Paul’s message to them: God’s good work in originally saving this Christian brother through Christ’s crucified love can be completely undone over another Christian’s selfish insistence on eating certain foods at their fellowship meals. One believer’s actions could influence another believer to act in unbelief, which (if persisted in) could lead them to become an unbeliever and wind up in hell—the very fate that Christ died to save them from.

We can only hope that Paul’s letter would have brought some of the “strong” to a quick change in attitude toward their weak brothers and to start living in such a way that reflects King Jesus and His Kingdom values: others-centered love and pursuing peace, righteousness, and joy in the Holy Spirit. All for the upbuilding rather than the tearing down of one another.

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

Romans 15:1–3

for verse 15 from for verse 20a from Thornhill.

writes to bring unity to an existing congregation, or, more likely, to a number of ‘house’ congregations” (Moo 1996: 831).

1996: 826–827. Witherington (2004: 339) says:

It appears likely that the social setting Paul has in mind is the Christian fellowship meal, for Paul envisions the weak seeing the strong eat the offensive meat, and he envisions the strong noticing the ones eating only vegetables and drinking no wine. He also envisions a setting in which the weak might be tempted by the strong’s behavior to violate their own conscience. All of this points to the meals early Christians were sharing with each other as a community. It is therefore, in order to notice that Paul assumes there will be such joint meals in Rome involving Jewish and Gentile Christians. The community may be divided on some issues, but they are not entirely split into completely separate or rival factions.

1996: 829.

1996: 831.

1996: 832. “Here Paul shows his basic agreement with the strong that the [OT] food laws are no longer binding on Christians. He makes this statement as one who is in the Lord On the basis of Jesus’ explicit teaching (Mk 7:15, 19) as well as his general experience of Christ’s teaching, Paul can draw this conclusion” (Osborne 2004: 367).

1996: 832.

from Moo 1996: 833. Moo outlines sections 1, 3, 4 as follows:

14:1–12—Both “strong” and “weak” Christians need to stop condemning each other because it is the Lord, and he alone, who has the right to assess the believer’s status and conduct.

15:1–6—The “strong” Christians should willingly tolerate the tender consciences of the “weak” Christians, seeking thereby to foster unified praise of God in the community. Christians should exhibit such concern for others because of the example set for them by their Lord.

15:7–13—Both “strong” and “weak” Christians should receive each other as full and respected members of the Christian community, for God himself has shown, in fulfillment of Scripture, that he accepts both Jews and Gentiles as his people. (1996: 833)

parallel structure was adapted from Osborne 2004: 366.

2004: 366.

1258. “At issue in the question of are ultimate decisions, conscience and faith, sin and perdition” (Stählin, TDNT 6:753).

NIDNTT 2:708. Giesen, EDNT 3:249 has “enticement to unbelief, cause of salvation’s loss, seduction.” BDAG 926: “an action or circ*mstance that leads one to act contrary to a proper course of action or set of beliefs, temptation to sin, enticement to apostasy, false belief, etc.” Stählin, TDNT 7:345 says is an obstacle in coming to faith and a cause of going astray in it,” and in both the Old and New Testaments, skandalon negatively impacts one’s relationship with God.

1992: 327; cf. Dunn 1988b: 817, 818.

(1992: 327) says “the words are close synonyms, but there is this difference: a proskomma is something that happens by chance, whereas a skandalon is intentional and thereby more serious. The meaning, obviously, is that believers are to avoid those circ*mstances in which, either unknowingly or intentionally, they might injure fellow Christians.” Proskomma and skandalon in verse 13 are parallel to “stumble” and “fall” in verses 20 and 21.

(1998: 738; cf. 732) notes that many commentators maintain that in verse 23, faith does not refer to trust and reliance on God, as is usually the case in Paul.” Many suggest that faith here refers to “convictions” or “assurance” (Schreiner 1998: 732; 738, fn. 21). We agree with Schreiner (1998: 732, 738; and others he notes in 738, fn. 22):

There is no need to make these mutually exclusive. The parallel between this text and 4:19–21 is remarkable, for both texts refer to “weakness of faith,” “doubting,” “assurance,” and “faith.” Faith and assurance, then, should not be placed in different categories (rightly Dunn 1988b: 827).... No compelling reason exists to depart from the usual Pauline meaning of trust or reliance on God.... Paul desires to explain [in v. 23] that eating apart from faith is serious because faith is fundamental to living the Christian life.

1998: 404.

1998: 404. Gundry (2010: 621) says “the nonvegetarians’ eating all foods threatens to drive the vegetarians into apostasy by tempting them to violate their conscience through eating meat.”

Cottrell 1998: 404.

2004: 368.

“you are no longer walking in love” (cf.

1988b: 820.

1998: 406. Once again, what matters to Paul is faith expressing itself in love toward others (Galatians 5:6).

Cottrell 1998: 407.

1988b: 820.

1985: 347. “Since the result may be to ‘destroy that person’ (14:15), it jeopardizes his very faith and salvation; the person is at risk of going to hell” (Middendorf 2016: 1424). “The vegetarians’ eternal destiny is at stake” (Gundry 2010: 621).

(1988b: 825) rightly argues that since the “destroying” of verse 20 is a restatement of the “destroying” of verse 15, katalyō has the same force as So Schreiner 1998: 735; Cottrell 1998: 413.

commenters see the “work of God” as referring to the Church corporately and not to the individual Christian who is weak in faith. However, we agree with Schreiner (1998: 735, fn. 15) when he writes: “It is more likely ... that the reference is to the weak Christian (so Murray 1965: 195; Cranfield 1979: 722–23; Fitzmyer 1993: 698), for this has been the focus of the discussion in context.” “The ‘work of God’ is the weak Christian” who is “‘God’s workmanship’ (Eph 2:10)” (Cottrell 1998: 412).

1996: 854, fn. 26. Moo’s comment is specifically on the present-tense imperative verb apollymi in verse 15b. But his comment would apply as well to the identical present-tense imperative verb katalyō in v. 20a.

(2002: 548) says “v 15 does imply that those who are now Christian brothers can have their faith destroyed.” “[The strong] could ‘destroy’ the faith of fragile or young or weak Christians” (Witherington 2004: 339).

you [the strong] use your freedom ... to cause someone to stumble or fall, then love has been forfeited to (self-serving) freedom, and your fellow believer’s salvation is imperiled” (Edwards 1992: 328). Calvinist Herman Ridderbos (1975: 292) says “the salvation of the believer is at stake (Rom. 14:15; 1 Cor. 8:11).” Calvinist William Hendriksen (1981: 463) says “were it not for God’s irresistible grace” the weak Christian would be destroyed by following the actions of the strong Christian. This is reading an idea into the text (i.e., irresistible grace) that is nowhere to be found in the immediate context.

opposite of edification is not merely a less productive Christian life, but a ‘tearing down’ or ‘destruction’ of the Christian life. This is confirmed finally by verse 23. Those who eat without faith are ‘condemned.’ Both the verbal form used here and the noun ... denote eschatological condemnation (for the verb, see, e.g., Rom. 2:1; 8:34; 1 Cor. 11:32; 2 Pet. 2:6; for the noun see, e.g., Rom. 5:16, 18; 8:1)” (Schreiner 1998: 734).

(1961: 368) rightly states: “Certainly we need not assume that Paul implies that a single act of eating would constitute total apostasy. But one breach of conscience encourages another and, unless the trend is checked, the spirit of obedience (an essential aspect of saving faith) is inevitably destroyed, with apostasy the ultimate consequence.” Gundry (2010: 622) sees the destroying of both verses 15 and 21 to refer to “eternal damnation on account of an apostasy caused by unloving, self-indulgent behavior on the part of those strong enough in faith to eat all foods” (cf. co*ke 1803: 2:147). “The is the eternal ruin from which Christ by His death saved him [i.e., the weak believer], and into which, by seducing him to a course of conduct against his own conscience, thou whilt hurl him back.... Certainly a [proof text] for the possibility of apostasy” (Philippi 1879: 345). “In light of the priorities specified in 14:19–20, foods are clean, hence neutral, but they become agents of evil if used in such a way as to provoke another’s apostasy” (Keener 2009: 168).

452: “the future and eternal doom of [unbelieving] man.” “Over against life with God there stands the terrible possibility of eternal perdition.... Perdition can be brought on a person by another who corrupts his soul (Rom. 14:15; Jn. 10:10)...” (H-C Hahn, NIDNTT 1:464). Stählin 7:356) says this destruction is “a final danger of eschatological seriousness” where the strong Christian “destroys the brother whom Christ has saved (R. 14:15); ... he thus overturns the work of God (R. 14:20), i.e., the saving work of Jesus....”

1996: 854, fn. 28, with “the possible exceptions” to apollymi meaning ultimate spiritual destruction “are 1 Cor. 10:9, 10; 2Corinthians 4:9.”

should be noted that even though Moo (1996: 854–855) says “the ‘weak’ in faith might be led by the scorn of the ‘strong’ to turn away entirely from their faith” and thereby forfeit final salvation with God as an unbeliever, he does not believe this can actually take place for the Christian who is weak in faith. See comments that follow.

2000: 464.

2000: 465.

1983: 493.

1994: 294.

Barnes (1846: 362–363) writes:

The word destroy here refers, doubtless, to the ruin of the soul in hell.... [It is] frequently applied to destruction in hell, to the everlasting ruin of the soul; Matthew 10:28 ... Matthew 18:14; John 3:15; Romans 2:12.... [A Christian] might be led by example to partake against his own conscience, or he might be excited to anger, disgust, and apostasy from the Christian faith. Though the apostle believed that all who were true Christians would be saved, Romans 8:30–39, yet he believed that it would be brought about by the use of means, and that nothing should be done that would tend to hinder or endanger their salvation; Hebrews 6:4–9; Hebrews 2:1. God does not bring his people to heaven without the use of means adapted to the and one of those means is that employed here to warn professing Christians against such conduct as might jeopard[ize] the salvation of their brethren.

1996: 854–855, fn. 28.

Albert Barnes (1846: 363) says, “By those for whom Christ died, he undoubtedly refers here to true for the whole discussion relates to them, and them only.”

(2002: 550) notes that apollymi is found “92 times in the New Testament. In passages such as Matthew 10:28, 39; 16:25; 18:11, 14; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 13:3, 5; 17:33; John 3:15, 16; 10:28; 12:25; Rom. 2:12; 1 Cor 15:18; 2 Thess. 2:10; 2 Peter 3:9 it clearly means eternal damnation.... The burden of proof rests upon the proponents of eternal security who love to cite John 10:28. He must explain how the same verb used there and here [Rom. 14:15] cannot mean the same thing.” Gundry (2010: 621) sees “eternal damnation” as well in verse 15.

1998: 408.

1989: 219; Earle 1997: 210. Thayer 64: “contextually, by one’s conduct to cause another to lose eternal Ro. 14:15” Cottrell 1998: 408; Osborne 2004: 368).

(1998: 734) rightly notes that skandalon “is often used in contexts where salvation is at stake (e.g., Matthew 13:20–21 18:6–7; Luke 17:1; Rom. 9:32–33; 11:9; 16:17; 1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 5:11; 1Peter 2:8; 1 John 2:10). In Rom. 14 the term probably harks back to Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 18:6–7 ... and there ... refers] to ‘the loss of eternal salvation and eternal perdition’ (Stählin, TDNT 7:347).” Nigel Turner (1982: 294, 304, fn. 5) says: “A look at the NT and patristic phenomena [regarding reveals that the meaning is two-fold, ‘either to put someone off from becoming a believer or to cause a believer to fall away. The scandal of the Cross is an instance of the first meaning, to cause to apostatize an instance of the second.’ [Turner is quoting G. D. Kilpatrick, Journal of Theological Studies NS 10 (1959), 129.]”

1998: 733–735, emphasis added. It should be noted that Schreiner (1998: 735, fn. 17) goes on to write, “I am not arguing that those who are truly elect can be lost. Paul does not respond to this issue here.” Of course, we disagree with Schreiner here.

(1999: 201–202) agrees because he finds Paul regularly using apollymi for eternal destruction, and katakrinō (v. 23) likewise for eternal condemnation.

Thus Paul urges the strong in faith to limit their own exercise of freedom in regard to eating meat, lest the weak be thereby lead to stumble (i.e., to sin by eating meat against their conscience) and fall into eternal destruction. At first glance the threat of damnation for ... eating or not eating meat may seem much overdrawn. It is not the eating per se, however, which brings condemnation (“all food is clean,” verse 20), but an eating which is not [of faith] and hence is [sin] (verse 23). The gravity and sin of being led to act against one’s own conviction consists in rebellion against what, to one’s own mind, is God’s will and thus in no longer living [to the Lord - v 8]. Such faithfulness to the will of one’s lord has already been demonstrated as the criterion of the coming judgment (verses 4, 10–12). As in [Romans] chapter 6 the possibility is once against contemplated that a believer might yield anew to the rule of sin [and become an unbeliever] resulting in eschatological condemnation and destruction.

Beet sees 14:15 as teaching the danger of “final apostasy” (1877: 343).

find it impossible to believe that a God of truth would inspire Paul to use a falsehood or lie as a means to prevent believers from apostatizing. This explanation does not resolve this warning passage for the Calvinist, but creates more problems for them on biblical, theological, and practical grounds. For example, a Calvinist has to tell themselves to believe two contradictory truths: 1. Due to unconditional election and irresistible grace I am unconditionally and eternally secure, and God makes it impossible for me to apostatize from Him. 2. God gives warnings directed to believers about the danger of apostatizing from Him as a means to prevent them from apostatizing. But if God makes it impossible for a believer to apostatize, the warning is no warning at all, since there is no possibility that apostasy can actually ever take place. We are entering the Twilight Zone here. Calvinists are supposed to keep telling themselves that the warnings about the possibility of apostasy are “real,” all the while knowing that this possibility is rooted in fiction—a make-believe world. Calvinists have to create in their own mind a healthy fear of committing apostasy, while knowing apostasy is never to be feared due to God’s unconditional election and irresistible grace.

(1988: 408) is speaking specifically on Romans 14:15 with this comment.

TWENTY

The Dangers of Eating Idol Food (Dining with Demons)

Now concerning the foods-sacrificed-to-idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs-up, but love builds-up.... For if someone sees you, the one having knowledge, reclining [to eat] in an idol-temple, will not his conscience, being weak, be built-up so as to eat the foods-sacrificed-to-idols? For the one being weak is being destroyed by your knowledge—the brother for the sake of whom Christ died! (1Corinthians 8:1, 10–11,

The ominous words of “being destroyed” here in 1Corinthians 8:11 is identical to what we find in Romans 14:15, which we discussed in our last chapter. While the situations Paul is dealing with are not identical, the spiritual dangers confronting believers are the Here in 1Corinthians 8:1–11:1, we encounter Paul’s extended discussion regarding the issue of eating food sacrificed to idols or false Of course, to those living in cultures where there is no food being offered to idols, this seems strange and not applicable to most people. Nevertheless, eating idol food was an ongoing issue that posed a number of problems for new Gentile converts in the first and, as David Garland notes, “The pressures have not changed for new Christians today living in cultures where food is regularly offered to one god or

This issue could appear to have little by way of application for those of us who have never been tempted to eat idol food. However, when we have a better understanding of the historical-cultural context surrounding the eating of idol food, we will see how other potential issues (i.e., drunkenness, sexual immorality) come into play that make Paul’s teaching highly applicable to our present Garland writes:

Paul’s mission took him into a world filled with a potpourri of gods and goddesses, and temples and shrines devoted to their honor and worship (see Acts 17:16, 23). Inevitably, the new [Gentile] converts he made would face the vexing question of how to deal with food that had been sacrificed to idols. If they had not been converts to Judaism before becoming Christians, it would have been difficult for them to know where to draw the line (Moffatt 1938:

Numerous opportunities presented themselves for people to be feasting on food sacrificed to idols in the ancient world. For example, the city could host a festival in honor of one of their many “If Christians took part in civic life, they would have been expected to participate in a festival’s sacrificial Furthermore,

Individuals who shared the same trades (cf. Acts 19:24–25) or a desire to worship specific gods banded together in voluntary associations (clubs, guilds), which were very popular in the Greek world.... These associations “served religious, social and commercial ends” ... and some met in the dining rooms attached to major civic temples [where idol food would be

“Individuals might also receive invitations to a banquet at a temple since rooms could be rented out for private functions, like church halls Archaeologists have discovered ancient invitations that “beckon guests to attend banquets in a temple dining room commemorating a variety of rites of passage: weddings, childbirth, birthdays, coming-of-age parties, election victories, and In these temple dining rooms there were also other more overtly religious “feasts celebrating, for example, a god’s For each of these occasions, idol food would commonly be made available for consumption. For Christians to refuse to participate in any of the various celebrations involving eating idol food “demanded of them an uncompromising devotion [to God] that could only invite ostracism from their unbelieving family and associates and lead to shame and material

The difficult issue of idol food addressed by Paul in chapters 8–10 “involves three different types of situations: (1)eating food sacrificed to an idol at the temple of an idol (8:7–13; 10:1–22); (2)eating food of unknown history that is bought in the market (10:23–27); and (3)eating food in the private homes of unbelievers

We disagree with the traditional understanding of eating idol food that follows C.K. Barrett: “(1)Christians are free to [knowingly] eat food that has been offered as a sacrifice to a heathen god, provided that no idol worship is involved, which is associated with demons, and that (2)fellow-Christians must not be hurt by such freedom to eat whatever one

We are persuaded by Alex David and other that Paul in chapters 8–10 was neither lenient nor un-Jewish toward eating food with known idolatrous “Paul’s position in a nutshell is this: to eat idol food knowingly is to participate in Any “conscious consumption of idol food” involved “a denial of the Corinthians’ allegiance to Thus, Paul urges Christians “to avoid idol food if, and only if, it is identified as

As to situations two and three mentioned earlier, Paul does allow a Christian “to eat any food bought in the market or offered in another’s home without asking its origins or But if the Christian winds up being “informed that the food was idol food, then Paul insists that one must

For a Christian to eat food served to them in the home of an unbeliever “after being told it had been offered to idols would have implied that one could worship the Lord and consciously participate in In addition, Christians who willingly consume food announced to have been sacrificed to idols/false gods would be doing three things:

1.It would compromise their confession of the one true God with a tacit recognition of the sanctity of pagan gods.

2.It would confirm rather than challenge the unbeliever’s idolatrous convictions and would not lead the unbeliever away from the worship of false gods (Conzelmann 1975: 178; Reuf 1977: 102). If a Christian eats what a pagan acquaintance regards as an offering to a deity, it signals the Christian’s endorsem*nt of idolatry.

3.It would disable the basic Christian censure of pagan gods as false gods that embody something demonic (Cheung 1999: 159) and make that censure seem

Garland notes that Paul’s letter to Corinth was not the first time he would have addressed the issue of eating idol food, but since some Christians have resisted his prior prohibitions against such food, it necessitated a lengthier

Paul’s initial “argument is subtle. He does not immediately denounce their position but chooses a more circuitous route that winds its way through various facets of the problem turning it this way and that in an attempt to convince them to ‘flee idolatry’ Paul adopts this approach because “Paul was interested in persuasion, not and “because he intends, as he does throughout the letter, to exercise love in directing them.... [H]e also wants them to see the theological implications of their behavior and the necessity of the norm of love for guiding all their

We should add that consciously consuming idol food in an idol’s temple complex would have been prohibited by Paul not only because of its clear idolatrous context, “but also because of the sexual encounters which oftentimes accompanied such meals and were considered by Paul to be immoral Christian

Eating idol food in a temple dining room or private home was more than just sharing a meal between friends, family, and business associates. It often involved after-dinner entertainment that could consist of “drinking games, mimes, pantomimes, actors, dancers, harp-girls or flute Of course, with drinking games, drunkenness was a common occurrence at these

Sexual play was an extremely popular form of after-dinner entertainment that took place at these meals, whether in private homes or in pagan Partners made available for sexual relations could take the form of male and female harp-girls, flute girls (who were generally prostitutes), wine-servers, and young boys (at least fifteen years old) who were slaves serving at these

Fotopoulos notes that sexual immorality associated with ancient formal dining is particularly relevant to the “social-historical reconstruction of the Corinthian idol-food dispute since Paul treats the issue of sexual immorality in association with dining and idolatry in 1Corinthians

So, while eating idol food is generally not a problem for most Christians today, the temptation to get drunk or participate in sexual immorality is every bit as strong as it was in the first century. Therefore, Paul’s teaching throughout these chapters is highly relevant for Christians in any culture who are faced with these temptations.

Paul begins, “With regard to food sacrificed to idols, we know that ‘we all have knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1Corinthians 8:1, The “we all have knowledge” is a quote from the Christian that Paul refutes with “knowledge puffs up,” “makes arrogant” “inflates with pride” “but love builds Paul values knowledge, but when it is not directed by love, it leads to prideful arrogance that hurts others.

In verse 4, Paul quotes the “knowers’” “knowledge which they use to support their consumption of idol “We know that...”

No idol exists in the world.

No God exists but one.

Holding these two positions, the “knowers” can “justify their consumption of sacrificial food. If the pagan deities represented by cult statues do not truly exist and only the one God of the Christians truly exists, then eating idol-food cannot possibly be [spiritually] harmful. Such a sophisticated theological justification (i.e., knowledge) of idol-food consumption would comfortably allow” Christians in Corinth “to attend formal meals at pagan temples with pagan friends, business associates, and relatives with

Paul goes on to clarify these two statements in verses 5–6: “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” Garland explains,

He is going back to the foundations, and laying the claim that the people defined by this formula of belief form a new family with a new code of family This confession marks out believers as having special obligations. He begins his argument by defining the nature of the people of God, who believe in one God and one Lord and who live in the midst of a pagan society where there are many gods and lords. Consorting with the many other gods and lords ruptures the relationship with the one God and one Lord. He develops this idea in 10:1–22, along with the blazing jealousy of the one God, who must be feared. This confession bars any participation in idolatry.

This “confession of one God and one Lord ... requires exclusive loyalty to God as Father and to Christ as Lord,” and allows no show of loyalty to idols/false gods that some Christians were giving by knowingly eating food sacrificed to an idol, in the temple of an idol, and more than likely, in the presence of a statue of an

Paul’s attitude toward idols was Jewish. “On the one hand, Jews professed that idols have no existence (Isaiah 41:29; 44:9–17; Jeremiah 10:3–11; 16:19–20). On the other hand, they recognized that idols do represent a demonic reality and that idol gods are subordinate powers (Deuteronomy 4:19; 32:17; 1Chronicles 16:26 LXX; Psalm 106:37; Isaiah 8:19; 19:3).... Jews always believed both.... Idols are nonentities, but demonic powers used idols to inveigle [i.e., entice, lure, ensnare] humans into worshiping false gods (Moffatt 1938: Paul held to this same position, as seen in chapter 10:

Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? (1Corinthians 10:19–22,

Here Paul “maintains that there is no reality to an idol sacrifice”—“and no reality to an idol constructed of wood or But, “there is a sinister reality lurking behind them both” “in the realm of the These “sacrifices are offered ‘to demons and not to God’ Paul’s “words allude to Israel’s past idolatry of sacrificing to demons (Deuteronomy 32:17; cf. Psalm 106:36–37), which implicitly warns the Corinthians again not to follow the wilderness generation’s Dining in an idol’s temple eating food sacrificed to idols is nothing less than “a deadly communion with that incites the Lord to

Paul’s last two questions: “Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” would carry an expectant and emphatic “No” for an The Christians in Corinth “know that God is a jealous God who brooks no rivals. ‘Jealousy’ is connected to God’s holiness and power (Fee 1987: 474), and it is aroused by any form of idolatry by the covenant people (Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; 5:9; 6:14–15; Joshua 24:19–20; 1Kings 14:22–23; Psalm 78:58; Ezekiel 8:3; Nahum 1:2; Zephaniah “Israel provoked the Lord to jealousy by their idols and worship of that which is not God (Deuteronomy 32:19–21; cf. Numbers 25:10–17; Psalm 106:28). The provocation assumes a violation of God’s covenant and commands for his people to have no other gods and no graven images (Deuteronomy 5:7–9; Exodus 20:3–5). Divine punishment ensures from the Lord because of This is Paul’s “final warning that God’s ‘jealousy’ cannot be challenged with By continuing to dine with demons, the Christians in Corinth are participating in idolatry, and, “in effect, taking on God, challenging him by their actions, daring him to Since the witness of the Old Testament “reveals that association with anything idolatrous will meet with God’s swift and irrevocable retribution,” then Paul’s words should be viewed as a “‘frightening threat of judgment upon those Corinthian Christians who provoke God to ... Flee idolatry—or

Paul says dining with demons “is totally incompatible with life in Christ as it is celebrated at the Lord’s Table,” and “is absolutely forbidden” as an act of Paul will go on to give in chapter 8 another reason eating idol food in an idol’s temple is wrong: it is not only idolatrous but unloving.

In 8:7–13, Paul explores the potential effect of the “knowers’” eating of idol food in an idol’s temple on a fellow believer who may not have the same level of theological sophistication to rationalize such behavior or to apprehend its theological consequences. Paul assumes that as Christians they will have a loving concern for others and not wish to lead them into sin. Eating idol food in the temple of an idol may cause a fellow Christian to sin and to potentially fall away from

But be watching-out that this right of yours [to eat food sacrificed to an idol] does not somehow become an opportunity-for-stumbling [or “stumbling block,” to the weak ones. For if someone sees you, the one having knowledge, reclining [to eat] in an idol-temple, will not his conscience, being weak, be built-up [“strengthened,” so as to eat the foods-sacrificed-to-idols? For the one being weak is being destroyed by your knowledge—the brother for the sake of whom Christ died! And in this manner sinning against the brothers and striking their conscience while being weak, you are sinning against Christ. For-this-very-reason, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat meats, ever—in-order-that I may not cause my brother to fall. (1Corinthians 8:9–13,

In verse 9, Paul gives an “urgent to these “knowers” to “be watching out” in exercising their so-called right to eat idol Such eating while reclining in the temple of an idol will become a “stumbling block” to other Christians weak in conscience. To be a “stumbling block” is to be the of inducing [a person] to The Christians “knowers” are influencing a Christian to participate in the sin of idolatry and this necessarily involves being a “‘Hindrance to [their] faith,’ [and a] ‘cause of [their] spiritual ruin,’ R. 14:13; 1 C.

These “knowers’” actions are serving to cause Christians to be “built up” also used in v.1] to eat idol food. This is ironic since this building up is leading to a demolishing of another The knowers are not displaying Christ-crucified love that is others-centered, but selfish and sinful behavior. They are “sinning against their brothers,” and “because all Christians are ‘in Christ,’” they are at the same time “sinning against Christ” How serious is this spiritual “destroying” or “perishing” cf. 1Corinthians 1:18) that is taking place?

Eternal security proponents argue that since this is referring to a Christian brother whom Christ died for, it cannot be referring to “ultimate spiritual or “eternal and therefore, it refers to a or of the Christian’s spiritual life, or to a present “bodily that, if persisted in, results in “physical

These interpretations fail to do justice to the seriousness of the situation that Paul is confronting. Paul is seeking to persuade some Christians (i.e., the “knowers,” or the “strong,” as some scholars refer to them) to stop participating in the sin of idolatry and influencing other Christians (the “weak in to do the same. Paul is not dealing with an “amoral” as Craig Blomberg but “a dangerous, sinful a dining with demons that not only compromises the exclusive “loyalty owed only to God and but one that can jeopardize a Christian’s saving relationship with Idolatry, like any sin that is persisted in, can kill a Christian’s relationship with

Notice that Paul puts the verb in the present tense: “Your brother is being or by getting sucked back into idolatry through the “knower’s” loveless actions. Picirilli says:

(This use of the present [tense verb] is futuristic, of course, but it puts the future into the present time as something already in Paul does not mean that this weak brother has perished but he does mean that the outcome of his falling into sin, if the process is not reversed in some way, is certain to be his eternal ... Sin persisted in, on the part of a Christian, can lead to a retraction of faith in Christ and thus to apostasy [i.e., becoming an unbeliever] and eternal

Picirilli is on target with his comments and right in line with Paul’s teaching in Corinthians and elsewhere. Paul commanded Christians to stop deceiving themselves into thinking that they could treat fellow believers unjustly like the unjustified and still be destined to inherit God’s Kingdom. He warns them that if they continue to act like the unjustified, then they will eventually become one of them and share in their same destiny (1Corinthians Paul specifically mentions as people who will not inherit or enter into God’s future Kingdom (6:9–10; cf. Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–5; Revelation 21:8, 27; Therefore, while we agree that causing another Christian to participate in the sin of idolatry will no doubt damage the Christian’s relationship with Christ, the potential danger is far more serious—“serious enough to ... impinge on the person’s eternal Lockwood (2000: 287) writes,

While the self-confident Christian blithely goes ahead and parades this Christian “knowledge” and “freedom,” he seems to be either unaware or completely careless of the effect his behavior is having on his weaker brother. Placing the verb (“is being destroyed”) first in 8:11 for emphasis, Paul brings it home to every Christian that in allowing himself to become puffed up with his knowledge, he has become personally ... for jeopardizing his brother’s

Lockwood’s conclusion is supported by Paul’s word choice for “destroying/perishing.” As David Garland writes,

Paul always uses the verb to refer to eternal, final destruction (Barrett 1968: 196; Conzelmann 1975: 149 n. 38; Fee 1987: 387–88; Schrage 1995: 265; Cheung 1999: If salvation means that God has “rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13), then returning to idolatry and the regime of darkness means eternal

Indeed, Paul fears that a Christian weak in conscience will become an idolater or unbeliever all over again and “rejoin the ranks of the 1Corinthians 1:18; 2Corinthians 2:15; rather than remain among those who are being saved through trusting in Christ (1Corinthians 1:18, 21; cf. This interpretation is confirmed by what Paul says in the next verse:

For-this-very-reason, if food causes my brother to fall I will never eat meats, ever—in-order-that I may not cause my brother to fall (1Corinthians 8:13, cf.

Paul is adopting the same vocabulary of apostasy as used in the teachings of Jesus. Jesus warned His disciples about being the cause of a fellow believer to “fall away from or commit (Matthew 18:6; Mark and here Paul reveals that he is willing to become a vegetarian (never, ever eat meats so as not to cause a fellow believer to fall away from or from Christ (i.e., become an Of course, Paul wants the Christian idol food eaters to follow him in demonstrating a love that builds up rather than tears down another Christian’s faith relationship with Christ. Paul was clearly committed to displaying Christ’s crucified love, but will the Christian “knowers” follow his example and give up eating their idol food to protect a fellow Christian’s saving relationship with Christ, who died out of love for

If we stop to really take in all that Paul has said thus far, it is rather sobering. as Christians, can directly contribute to destroying another Christian’s faith relationship with Christ. through our sinful and loveless actions, can influence another believer to engage in sinful behavior. And, if this sin is not remedied through repentance, we can rightly be said to shoulder some of the responsibility in leading another believer to become an unbeliever (commit apostasy) and wind up in hell. Therefore, God’s original good work, in saving an individual trusting in Christ who died for them, can be undone through our loveless actions and ultimately through their own unbelief manifested in sinful rebellion to God’s expressed will. Such a scenario should cause all of us to consider carefully how we are living out the Christian life before others.

Faith is central to Paul’s theology of salvation, but it is not a faith that is devoid of love. Paul did not see living by faith that expresses itself in others-centered love as being optional for Christians, and neither should we, especially when a person’s eternal destiny is at stake.

Schreiner (2018: 163–165) who provides a helpful summary of the areas of significant overlap as well as distinct differences between Romans 14–15 and 1 Corinthians 8–10.

term ‘idol’ connoted to both Jews and most Christians something detestable (Deut. 29:17, opposed to the living God (1 Thess. 1:9; 2Corinthians 6:16), lifeless and ‘dumb’ (1 Cor. 12:2), and demonic (Rev. 9:20)” (Garland 2003a: 364). Furthermore, “Idols are reviled in the OT as mere sticks and stones, no better than scarecrows (Jer. 10:5). The psalmist mocks them not only for being the creation of human hands, but also for having human features—mouths, eyes, ears, noses, hands, feet—that do not work (Ps. 115:4–8; 135:15–18)” (Garland 2003a: 364, fn. 3).

argues that “food offered to idols” 8:1, 4, 7, 10; 10:19, 28) or sacrificial food did not entail meat only, but consisted of grains, fish, cakes, fruit, wine, oil, and honey. While Paul is concerned with meat sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8:13 (the word “meat,” Greek: is used), the particular foods he has in mind are more broad, especially when we see “food” (Greek: used in 8:8a and 8:13a. Paul goes on to deal with “all” food sold in the marketplace [Greek: of Latin origin: in 10:25–26, and served in private homes in 10:27–11:1. In both of these situations, there would have been various kinds of food products, beside meat, that could have been sacrificed to idols (2002: 174).

2003b: 173. Sharing meals in the Greco-Roman culture centered on social interaction and was a way to express friendship (Cheung 1999: 35). “Not only was food a significant marker of social status, but dining was also the primary means for social advancement in winning favors and benefits from one’s superiors” (Cheung 1999: 35).

is this larger historical-cultural context surrounding idol food that is often ignored by once saved, always saved advocates that leads them to offer interpretations of this passage that are not only highly improbable, but not in keeping with Paul’s intended goal of getting Christians to “be fleeing from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14, and its attending immorality.

2003a: 347.

was discovered from numerous inscriptions, coins, and statues found in ancient Corinth, “the worship of more than fifty different deities” (Hubbard 2010: 20).

2003b: 174. Garland notes that “sacrifices [to gods] were part of the Isthmian games” hosted by Corinth (2003b: 174).

2003a: 348. Fotopoulos (2002: 176–177) says the Asklepieion was the only temple facility with operating dining rooms that can confidently be demonstrated as being in use when 1 Corinthians was written. It offered a relaxing atmosphere and attractive location to dine just outside the center of the city—a shaded colonnade, lavish dining rooms, access to sacrificial food sacred to the god Asklepios, and plenty of fresh water via springs. This setting surely qualifies as eating in the temple of an idol and the most convincing context for 1 Corinthians 8:1–13, and 10:1–22. (For an extended discussion on Asklepieion in Corinth, see Fotopoulos 2003: 49–70.)

2003b: 175.

2003b: 175. Fotopoulos (2002: 177) adds “governmental appointments, religious holidays, miracles, and healings could all be celebrated by formal meals in the dining rooms of the Corinthian Asklepieion” where idol food would be served.

2003b: 175. Fotopoulos (2003: 175–176) helpfully notes: “If a meal occurred in a temple precinct and [sacrificial food] were placed before a god’s stature near the couches, those present would be able to easily consider themselves as dining in the presence of the god.”

2003b: 173. Cheung (1999: 38) writes:

To refuse to eat idol food presented at such meals would mark one as antisocial and invite misunderstanding and hostility.... By forfeiting a major means of social advancement, it would be economically detrimental. Therefore the potential social impact of a prohibition of idol food cannot be over-emphasized. It is not difficult to imagine that some of the Corinthians Christians might take issue with a prohibition of idol food, no matter who imposed such a prohibition. They would be tempted to compromise or even rationalize their behavior, which might conflict with apostolic teaching.

“The social pressure to mix in the society and not to be perceived as intolerant, aloof, or weird would be sufficient motivation for them to join in the banquets” (Garland 2003a: 384, fn. 9).

2003b: 177.

2010: 2.

Cheung’s, Idol Food in Corinth: Jewish Background and Pauline Legacy (1999) is a substantial revision of his doctoral dissertation at Westminster Theological Seminary. His testimony is worth noting:

I grew up in a home that worshiped idols and lived in a society and culture which, like Corinth, acknowledge many gods and many lords. The problem of idol food forced itself on me almost immediately after I had became a Christian. Over the years of grappling with Paul’s teaching on this subject in 1 Corinthians 8–10, I came to the conclusion that Paul regarded the eating of idol food, with the awareness of their idolatrous as a sinful act rather than a matter indifferent. (Cheung 1999: 7)

Cheung discovered support of his view from his extensive research into the early Christians’ understanding of Paul’s attitude toward idol food from the second century onward (see chapter 4). These Christians were virtually unanimously in prohibiting the conscious consumption of food offered to idols. Thus, the traditional interpretation that Paul was indifferent about Christian’s consciously eating idol food is unattested in early Christian writings. Cheung (1999: 96–97) would add that the traditional interpretation of Paul’s attitude toward idol food also finds no support in Paul’s Jewish heritage (The Jewish Scriptures, Jewish Writings, etc., see his full discussion in chapter 2).

highly recommend reading David Garland’s lengthy introduction on Paul’s discussion of idol food in his outstanding commentary 1 Corinthians (2003: 347–362), or his journal article, “The Dispute Over Food Sacrificed to Idols (1 Cor 8:1–11:1),” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30:2 (2003): 173–196. To avoid any possible confusion, we will refer to his commentary as 2003a, and the journal article as 2003b.

Schreiner, 1 ch. 8–10; Alan Johnson, 1 ch. 8–10.

1999: 162.

1999: 296.

1999: 296, cf. 162. Other scholars in agreement with Cheung are: Trent Rogers, God and the Chuck Lowe, Honoring God and Family: A Christian Response to Idol Food in Chinese Popular John Fotopoulos, Food Offered to Idols in Roman David Rudolph, A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians and Michael Li-Tak Shen, Canaan to Corinth: Paul’s Doctrine of God and the Issue of Food Offered to Idols in 1 Corinthians Shen (2010: 3) says that Peter Gooch, Dangerous Food: 1 Corinthians 8–10 in Its and Peter Tomson, Paul and the Jewish Law: Halakha in the Letters of the Apostle to the share conclusions similar to Cheung. Furthermore, “[James] Dunn supports this view and comments that ‘the current consensus interpretation that Paul sat light to the eating of idol food ... is probably wrong.’ More recently, [Wendell] Willis also regards Cheung’s position on Paul’s attitude and statements as ‘correct’ and ‘welcomes their setting out’” (Shen 2010: 3).

2003b: 186.

2011: 95, who is following Garland.

2003a: 497.

2003b: 173, 183. So Cheung 1999: 38, 109–112.

2003b: 173.

2003b: 185.

2003b: 186. Cheung (1999: 109) says “1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1 must be seen as a two-stage argument to dissuade the Corinthian Christians from eating idol food. To eat idol food is both unloving and idolatrous. It will cause the weak to ruin and bring God’s judgment against idolatry upon oneself.”

2003: 39. Paul wrote, “For it is God’s will that you be sanctified: You must abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3,

2003: 169.

2001: 95.

2003: 158, 169.

2001: 95.

2003: 169–71. Fotopoulos (2003: 171) notes that an invited male guest could bring a harp-girl or his lover with him to a formal meal to ensure “that sexual pleasure would be readily available to him when he was so disposed.” When Paul commanded Christians to “be fleeing from sexual immorality” (6:18, he may be “referring to some of the Corinthians’ sexual relations with prostitutes, possibly within the context of formal meals (cf. 1 Cor. 6:12–13)” (Fotopoulos 2003: 158).

2003: 158. The lone explicit Old Testament citation in 1 Corinthians 10:7 should be noted: “Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play [Exod. 32:6b].’” Exodus 32 is the account where the people of God demand that Aaron “Get up, make us gods who will go before us” (Exodus 32:1, Of course, this request was in direct violation of one of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:4).

Aaron responds to the people’s coercion with a proposal of his own. He commands the people to take off and bring their gold rings to him (32:2), a request with which the people eagerly comply (32:3). Aaron takes their jewelry and fashions it into a molten calf (32:4a).... The people embrace Aaron’s handiwork and proclaim, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (32:4b).... Aaron continues to exert his leadership by building an altar and announcing, “Tomorrow is a feast to Yahweh” (32:5). The next morning, the people make offerings to the calf with alacrity [i.e., purposefulness], sitting down for a cultic meal, and rising up to “revel sexually” (32:6) (Hwang 2011: 579–580).

The Hebrew word for “revel sexually” likely refers to “a euphemism for lewd activity,” and “carries a sexual connotation in other passages (Gen. 26:8; 39:14, 17)” (Hwang 2011: 580, fn. 38). The lewd nature surrounding this passage is reinforced by the presence of drinking (32:6), dancing (32:19), and the people “running wild” (32:25, Hwang 2011: 580, fn. 38). Here we see a clear connection between idolatry and its accompanying sexual immorality, the very temptations that were associated with eating idol food in a temple dining facility or private home in ancient Corinth.

commentators refer to the idol food eating Christians in Corinth as the “Strong.” “But Paul actually describes them here [8:2] and in 8:10 as those who ‘presume to have knowledge.’ It is more accurate to identify the group as the ‘know alls’ or, less pejoratively, as the ‘knowers’ (Cheung 1999: 117)” (Garland 2003a: 370).

translations help the reader to note some of these Corinthian quotations by using quotation marks. Fotopoulos (2003: 192) mentions that since “quotation marks were not used in ancient Greek writing, some scholars assert that there is no way to prove that Corinthian positions are quoted in 1 Corinthians.” Therefore, as some scholars see it, such quotation marks are unwarranted in our English translations. However, Fotopoulos (2003: 191–193, and footnotes 44–48) makes the case that an overwhelming majority of scholars acknowledge some or all of the following verses (i.e., 8:1b-c, 8:4b-c, 8:5a, 8:6, 8:8, 10:23a, 10:23c.) are the positions held by some of the Corinthians quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians. Identifying these Corinthian quotations enables the reader to see Paul’s entire instruction in 8:1–11:1 as being internally consistent and coherent against the conscious consumption of idol food.

2002: 183. We should note verse 8, which is likely another quotation from the idol food eating Christians in Corinth: “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.” As Garland (2003a: 385) notes: “Many assume that this statement is another cornerstone in the argument of the knowers to rationalize their eating idol food, akin to 6:12–13 (Hurd 1965: 68; Jeremias 1966b: 273–74; Murphy-O’Conner 1979b; Fee 1987: 383–84; Hays 1997:136).... They may have claimed not only that idols do not exist, but that food is morally neutral.” Theoretically, the “knowers” are right that eating food will not “affect one’s relationship to God, or bring God’s judgment” (Ibid.). As Rudolph (2011: 94) notes:

Paul did not consider idol-food to be intrinsically dangerous. It was not the essence of the food that was the problem. Rather, it was knowingly eating food offered to a false god that was the problem (1 Cor 10:19–20). That idol-food in itself was not harmful is implied by Paul’s permission to eat indeterminate food sold at the macellum [i.e., marketplace]. The allowance leads to the possibility that idol-food could unknowingly be consumed. Paul evidently did not believe that accidental consumption of idol-food would be harmful or he would not have had such a policy.

Knowingly eating food offered to idols/false gods is the problem here since, for Paul, it

can lead to partnership with demons (10:20).... Paul’s illustrations from the OT in 10:1–13 reveal that idol food is not as harmless as they [i.e., the ‘knowers’] assumed. It can kill—most significantly, it kills a person’s relationship with God.... Nothing is unclean in itself, unless it is known to be idol food.... Consuming food in an idolatrous context or food plainly associated with idolatry is not a matter of indifference but one that has deadly consequences (Garland 2003a: 385–386).

2002: 183; cf. Garland 2003a: 373. Rogers (2016: 169) provides a similar summary of the “knowers” argument to eat idol food which is based on verses 4 and 8: “We all have knowledge that God is One and therefore idol-gods are not real. For us there is one God the Father, from whom all things exist and we exist for him. And there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things exist and we exist through him. Food is a matter of indifference that does not cause God to judge us, so we are neither worse nor better off if we eat or do not eat.”

is quoting N. T. Wright here: The Climax of the 130.

2003a: 363.

2003a: 372.

2000: 344.

2017: 133. Cf. Garland 2003a: 482.

2003b: 182.

(2017: 133) writes: “Although demons are not the actual deities whom idolaters intend to worship, Mody is right when affirming that ‘the act of sacrifice/worship/homage of idols is the key act by which evil powers are related to idols and are able to co-opt or divert what is intended for idols so that the idolaters serve daimonia [demons] by coming into the sphere of power of evil powers.’”

2017: 134.

2003a: 482.

2017: 134.

1987: 474.

is quoting Rosner here.

2003a: 483.

1987: 474.

paragraph follows Garland 2003b: 187.

1997: 484.

2018: 174. “[I]t is likely that Paul uses the word ‘right’ ironically in verse 9, and thus he has in mind the ‘so-called right’ of the knowers” (Schreiner 2018: 175). Schreiner persuasively gives five reasons why this is the best interpretive decision here (see 175–176).

1258. Thayer 547: “impelled to sin.” To impel is “to urge or drive forward ... by the exertion of strong moral pressure” (Merriam-Webster).

TDNT 6:747.

1937: 345, “A demolition calling itself edification.”

2010: 656.

1976: 240.

Johnson 1962: 613. Bruce (1980: 82) says apollymi does not here refer to “eternal perdition.”

1980: 82

1995: 163.

1984: 196; Lowery 1983: 522.

Johnson 1962: 613.

1983: 522. “The weak brother, persistently violating his conscience by eating something he thinks he should not, sins and makes himself liable to the sin unto [physical] death (cf. 5:5; 11:30; 1 Jn. 5:16, 17)” (S. Johnson 1962: 613).

(2017: 80) says it is more probable that the word “weak” should not be viewed as a label that Paul gave “for those with sensitive consciences,” but rather, a label ascribed by some in the church (i.e., those who saw no problems with eating idol food), to marginalize others in the church who did see eating idol food as a sin against God.

Fotopoulos 2003: 217.

1995: 163.

2003b: 186.

2003b: 183.

2000: 287.

2003a: 385.

2010: 656 provides the translation “is being ruined” (cf.

is unfortunate that several translations render the present tense verb apollymi as a completed fact: “is destroyed” when there are good contextual and grammatical reasons to follow the and “is being destroyed.”

Godet 1889: 1:426–427, [With the present tense of the verb Paul] is thinking of the immediate effect: ‘He is from that moment in the way of perdition.’ ... [A]nd if this state continues ... eternal perdition is the end of it; comp. Rom. 14:15.”

1987: 120, emphasis added.

our full discussion of 1 Corinthians 6:1–11 in chapter 14.

course, Paul mentions other sinners who are classed among the unjustified as well: “the sexually immoral, adulterers, passive hom*osexual partners, practicing hom*osexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10,

in the temples of idols constitutes idolatry, and no-one who makes a practice of committing idolatry will inherit God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:20–21; Eph. 5:5)” (Schreiner 2018: 177).

Johnson 2004: 142.

“the apostle’s pastoral use of the pronoun ‘you’ in 8:10, and the possessive adjective ‘your’ in ‘your knowledge’ in 8:11” (Lockwood 2000: 287).

Fee (1987: 387, fn. 61) approvingly cites Conzelmann (1975: 149, fn. 38): “[Paul] of course presupposes the idea that the Christian, too, can lose his salvation.” For Fee, “this is not a happy thought, but it reflects Paul’s own theology with sober realism.”

Schreiner 2018: 177; Oropeza 2012a: 95; Wilson 2017: 89; Robinson 84: “of eternal destruction, the second death.” BDAG 116: “eternal death.” Thayer 64: incur the loss of true or eternal to be delivered up to eternal Abbott-Smith 52: “loss of eternal life.” Cremer 452: “the future and eternal doom of man.”

2003a: 389. The verb apollymi “must not be taken in a weakened sense as moral ruin; here as elsewhere it means eternal damnation” (Conzelmann 1975: 149, fn. 38).

2003a: 389, emphasis added.

see Paul intending “is being destroying” to refer to both a present process with a potential future and final consequence. In the present the Christians faith connection to Christ is being destroyed due to them engaging in idolatry influenced by Christians who knowingly are eating idol food. If this sin (idolatry) is not remedied by repentance, it will lead to believers giving up their faith entirely. Believers who become unbelievers (fall away from faith, v. 13) will join those unbelievers who are presently being destroyed and whose ultimate future destiny is eternal destruction or hell.

EDNT 3:248.

2005: 2:432.

our full discussion of Matthew 18:6 f. in chapter 11, and Mark 9:42 f. in chapter 10. While the consequence for leading a believer to apostatize from Christ is mentioned by Jesus in His teachings (see Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42), Paul leaves it unstated here. However, Paul’s readers could not have forgotten his earlier words: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17, This warning was directed toward Christians about the consequences of engaging in false teaching or fleshly living that is destructive to the Christian community gathered in Corinth. Christians who are responsible for spiritually destroying God’s people through false teaching or fleshly living wind up becoming unbelievers who are certain to receive “eternal destruction” from God. Since the idol food eating Christians are participating in fleshly living (idolatry), and are in the process of destroying another Christians saving relationship with Christ by influencing them to participate in idolatry as well, then it is possible for these idol food–eating Christians, if they continue in their sinful and destructive ways, to wind up becoming unbelievers and justly receiving “eternal destruction” in hell at the hands of God Oropeza 2012a: 95–96). See our full discussion of 1 Corinthians 3:1–17 in chapter 22.

(2010: 656) notes that “Paul makes himself as an example to be followed, but deliberately exaggerates to heighten his example.” In effect, Paul exaggerates in saying: “If food [that is, food in general, not just food offered in sacrifice to a false god] causes my brother to fall away from God, I will never ever eat meat [that is, meat in general, not just meat offered in sacrifice to a false god], so that I may not cause my brother to fall away from God” (Here we are following Gundry [2010: 656]). “As though he’d become a vegetarian or even stop eating altogether to keep from causing his fellow Christian to apostatize” (Gundry [2010: 656])!

Oropeza 2012a: 89. Giesen 3:248) says “Paul emphasizes that he will never again eat meat if by doing so he causes his brother to fall and thus to lose salvation v. 13a, b).”

2010: 656. Knowingly eating idol food “is definitely not a neutral matter when it leads others into temptation and apostasy” (Cheung 1999: 130).

in 1 Corinthians 8:13 means more than causing a brother or sister to “stumble,” or “sin,” or “to entice to sin” (Thayer 576). Thayer’s second definition is more accurate in capturing Paul’s intended meaning for skandalizō in 8:13: cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey; to cause to fall Cf. Barclay 2001: 110: “Paul renounces his right to eat meat, in case it causes the collapse of another’s faith-commitment.” Paul has already stated with the word “stumbling blocks” that some Christians are presently, through their sinful actions of eating known idol food in an idol’s temple, enticing or influencing other Christians to participate in the sin of idolatry. These idol food–eating Christians are in the process of destroying another Christian’s faith relationship with Christ through their loveless actions. Christians who persist in the sin of idolatry will eventually become an unbeliever/idolater and fall away entirely from Christ (i.e., commit apostasy) and share the unbeliever’s final destiny—hell. Paul’s word choice of skandalizō (fall away from faith) matches the seriousness of the sin of idolatry and its destroying effects upon a Christian’s faith relationship with Christ. Thus, Paul’s example of others centered love is to be followed: “Therefore, if eating food offered to false gods causes other believers to lose their faith, I will never eat that kind of food so that I won’t make other believers lose their faith” (1 Corinthians 8:13, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Paul’s second letter states that some Christians have continued unrepentantly in their sinful ways:

For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. (2Corinthians 12:20–21)

TWENTY-ONE

Disqualified for the Prize

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1Corinthians 9:24–27,

This passage falls right in the middle of Paul’s extended discussion on eating idol food (1Corinthians 8:1–11:1) that we introduced to the reader in the previous It serves Paul’s purpose in giving yet another reason Christians in Corinth must abstain from idolatry—knowingly eating food offered in sacrifice to an idol or false god/deity in an idol’s As discussed in the last chapter, one of the temptations for Christians that accompanied the eating of idol food, whether in a temple dining room or in a private home, was the after-dinner entertainment that commonly involved sex with

Paul uses a metaphor familiar with his readers derived from the athletic games to communicate the need for his readers to practice athletic-like self-control over the temptations to engage in idolatry and its attending immorality. Paul serves as an example for his readers to follow in exercising discipline and self-control over his body in regard to these temptations.

Of course, a number of important questions naturally arise from this passage, which has historically been used to argue for conditional security and the possibility of believers committing apostasy. What did Paul intend this “imperishable prize” to represent that Christians are to be running to win? What could Paul be “disqualified” from if he failed to exercise self-control over his body?

We will provide answers to these questions that will be supported from both the immediate and larger context, and that will support Paul’s overall goal in chapters 8–10 of getting Christians in Corinth to “be fleeing from idolatry” (10:14, and its attending immorality.

“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize (9:24a, This is a rhetorical question for which Paul’s readers would have been able to answer with: “Of course we know, we sponsor the Ismithian games—the second-most-popular athletic festival behind the The Corinthians were that only one runner could win “the prize” for finishing first in one of the footraces in the stadium: a perishable wreath made out of

Paul goes on to issue an imperative “which controls the entire “Be running in such a way that you may win [the prize]” (9:24b, This command implies that some Christians in Corinth are not running the Christian race in such a way so as to win the imperishable prize. Specifically, some are not proper self-control (the emphasis in vv. 25–27)” in their Christian Some Christians are lacking self-control in that they are knowingly eating food that has been offered to idols in a pagan temple and influencing other Christians to engage in such idolatry as well (see 1Corinthians 8:7–13). This passage “serves as a clear warning if they fail to ‘run’ properly,” and it anticipates the warnings found in

The manner in which Christians should be running the Christian race is likened by Paul to how an athlete trained to “Athletes were held to be excellent models of in the ancient “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (9:25, The athlete, if they hoped to have a shot at winning the prize, must exercise self-control in all things—especially in their eating/drinking and sexual habits. It is these very areas that some of the Corinthian Christians were desperately needing to exercise self-control

“Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23) and refers to ‘vigorous control of appetite and passion’ (Findlay 1910: Self-control should be evidenced in the life of every Christian (2Peter and it “is one of the qualities essential in a minister of the Gospel (Titus Paul sees self-control, motivated by love for another’s spiritual well-being (1Corinthians 8:1, 7–13; cf. Galatians 5:6), as necessary for his readers to exercise as Christian athletes in order to win the imperishable prize.

What is this “imperishable” prize Christians are (by running with self-control to win? We find it surprising that some commentators and theologians do not even bother to tell readers what Paul intended this imperishable prize to Nevertheless, whatever this imperishable prize represents, it is essential that we properly identify it since Paul is running in such a manner so as to win this prize.

Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I my body and make it my slave [“bring it under strict control” CSB, cf. so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified (1Corinthians 9:26–27,

Disqualified from what? Some onced-saved-always-saved advocates argue that Paul feared being disqualified from Similarly, some say, “Paul fears failing the test of service (i.e., the service of carrying out his commission of preaching the gospel) and being rejected as an apostle, not the loss of ... final salvation” with

There are problems with this interpretation. First, Paul’s focus in verses 24–25 is not on his ministerial or apostolic service, but on the Corinthians’ need to be running in such a way (i.e., with athletic-like self-control) so as to win the imperishable Second, Paul’s use of “the inferential ... (‘therefore’) in verse 26 indicates that the prospect of gaining this prize ... is what determined and motivated his [own] behavior (vv. 26–27). So Paul feared the possible loss of this Paul presents himself as the model Christian athlete whom the Corinthians should be He is running and boxing in such a way so as to win the imperishable Paul “keep[s] on disciplining” and enslaving “his own body so that his bodily appetites and sinful nature do not enslave Paul’s reason for all this disciplining and enslavement of his body is so that he will not be disqualified from receiving the same imperishable prize that he and his readers must be running (by faith) with athletic-like self-control to win.

Third, the possible disqualification from receiving the imperishable prize due to a lack of self-control in verse 27 is tied to Paul’s teaching in chapter 10 with the connective word “For” (10:1). Garland (2003: 447) notes that “for” “gives the grounds for his warning in 9:24–27 about the possibility of disqualification.” The grounds for Paul’s warning are taken from how God responded to His people in the past who lacked self-control (1Corinthians 10:1–12). All of God’s people (Israel) were delivered from their enslavement to Egypt. All of them were subsequently showered with various spiritual blessings to help sustain them on their way toward the goal of their pilgrimage—entrance into the Promised Land. They were racing (literally walking) toward their final destination, but due to a lack of self-control, specifically in the areas of idolatry and immorality, most of them became disqualified from entering the Promised Land and fell under divine judgment. These warning examples serve as a wake-up call for the Christians in Corinth who are presently participating in idolatry and immorality. They must not follow their example in lacking self-control in these areas or else they will “fall” (v.12) and find themselves disqualified from obtaining the final goal of their race—the imperishable

For these reasons, it is contextually unwarranted to hold that Paul feared being disqualified or rejected as an apostle or from ministry in general. Other once-saved-always-saved advocates argue that while this disqualification has nothing to do with a “loss of salvation,” it does refer to the loss of an imperishable prize or “crown.” This prize or “crown” is identified as a potential “reward” that is given to some Christians who fail to exercise self-control over sinful desires will remain saved and still make it into heaven, but they will be disqualified from receiving a heavenly “crown” or “reward” from

While this view is quite popular today, Paul’s entire discussion regarding the conscious consumption of idol food argues decisively against it. What is at stake is where one will spend or

First, participating in idolatry is a sin that, unrepentant of and persisted in, can place a person among the idolaters (the unjustified/unbelievers) who are excluded from inheriting or entering the Kingdom of God or the new heaven and new earth (1Corinthians 6:9–10; cf. Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–5; Revelation 21:8, 27; 22:15).

Second, Paul stated earlier (8:1–13) that through the loveless and idolatrous example of some Christians (who are eating idol food in a temple dedicated to an idol) they are influencing other Christians to sin in the same way. These idol food–eating Christians are leading their fellow brothers to sin against their conscience and undergo the process of “being destroyed” spiritually. If this process is not reversed, it will ultimately lead them to become unbelievers/idolaters all over again and experience “eternal, final destruction” (see

Third, Paul, who is motivated by love for the spiritual well-being of his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, sets an example for the idol food–eating Christians to follow: “For-this-very-reason, if [eating idol] food causes my brother to fall = “fall away from I will never eat meats, ever—in-order-that I may not cause my brother to fall [away from faith, apostatize, (1Cornthians 8:13, If Paul is willing to become a vegetarian to prevent a Christian from potentially falling away from Christ and becoming an unbeliever, then they should be more than willing to give up their cravings for eating idol food.

Fourth, while some Christians in Corinth believe they have acquired knowledge that gives them the so-called right 8:9) to go on eating idol food, Paul argues that he is willing to forgo the exercise of his legitimate “right” “to basic food and to take a wife, and to financial support (9:4–12), so that he “may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ” (9:12, “Paul’s willingness to give up his own ‘rights’ for the sake of others provides an illustration of Christian love” (see 8:13; Paul uses his freedom to be a servant to others “to win as many a possible” (9:19, to Christ through the preaching of the In verses 20–22, Paul says he will accommodate himself to a variety of different people groups (Jews, Greeks, the weak) in order to “win” or “save” them through the Gospel. Paul states: “I do all these things because of the gospel, so that I can be a participant in it” (9:23, The “it” is the Gospel message that saves people. Paul has already said that it was through the preaching of the Gospel that we find people “being saved” by the power of God through “trusting” in Christ crucified (1Corinthians 1:18–21). Paul’s commitment to living out his faith in Christ crucified love is so “that after he has proclaimed the gospel of God’s saving power to others” he will not “fail to participate in this same

Fifth, in Paul’s concluding words, which serve as a fitting summary to his entire teaching on abstaining from eating food known to have been offered in sacrifice to an idol/false god, we find him explicitly connecting his teaching to the saving of

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1Cor. 10:31–11:1,

Here we find interconnected themes that Paul has brought up throughout his teaching in chapters 8–10. Paul commands Christians, “Do not cause anyone to stumble is, do not be others into sin by one’s mode of Of course, the idol food–eating Christians are already being “stumbling blocks” 8:9), that is, influencing other Christians to participate in idolatry with their way of The remedy to being a stumbling block is to follow Paul and Christ’s example of others centered love for the sake of seeing others “saved” rather than leading them to eternal destruction (cf. 8:11–13). Indeed, Paul’s “exercise of self-control” in 9:25–27, provides an excellent example “of Christian love” to be

Clearly, chapters 8–10 have everything to do with a Christian’s saving relationship with God not only for Paul’s readers, but for Paul as well. Therefore, we have good contextual reasons to reject the imperishable prize as being some sort of heavenly “reward” having nothing to do with a believer’s saving relationship with God.

With the evidence we have just presented, it should come as no surprise to find commentators and theologians who say that the imperishable prize represents “final or “eternal with God, or more specifically, “resurrection to eternal life in an imperishable new body (15:42, 50,

There is an intentional word link of “imperishable” and its synonyms, used in chapter 9 and 15 that is often overlooked by contemporary This is unfortunate since this prize for those victorious in the Christian race in chapter 9 is given further explanation in chapter In chapter 15, Paul declares that Christians will be victorious over death through their union with Christ and enabled to inherit/enter into God’s “imperishable” Kingdom when they have been resurrected to eternal life in an “imperishable” and glorified body at Christ’s

But now Christ has been raised from the the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in all will be made But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be eliminated is death.... It is the same with the resurrection of the What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power ... Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this mortal body must put on immortality Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this mortal puts on immortality then the saying that is written will happen, “Death has been swallowed up in victory “Where, O death, is your victory Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1Corinthians 15:20–26, 42–43, 50–57, emphasis added)

The imperishable prize is nothing less than resurrection to eternal life in an imperishable/immortal glorified body. Christ was victorious over God’s enemies and death itself through His resurrection from the dead, and His enemies will be completely vanquished at His return. Those in union with Christ (v.22) will share in this victory by being clothed with an imperishable body that makes it possible for them to “inherit” or enter into God’s imperishable kingdom (15:50; cf. 1Peter 1:4–5; Revelation 21:7;

This understanding of the “prize” in 1Corinthians 9:25, is given further support when we compare the “prize” Paul is constantly striving by faith to win or to “take-hold-of” in another athletic metaphor used in Philippians chapter Here Paul bids the Philippians to follow his example (v.17) as one who continues to trust in Christ alone, to the exclusion of all confidence in his prior blameless keeping of law as a Pharisee. Indeed, Paul considers...

all things to be loss because of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for the sake of whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them dung, in order that I may gain Christ and may be found in not having my righteousness which is from the law, but which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already received this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on [“but I am pressing-on,” if indeed I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have laid hold of it. But I do one thing, forgetting the things behind and straining toward the things ahead, I press on [“I am pressing-on,” toward the for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Therefore as many as are perfect, let us hold this opinion, and if you think anything differently, God will reveal this also to you. Only to what we have attained, to the same hold on. Become fellow imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who walk in this way, just as you have us as an example ... For our commonwealth [“citizenship,” exists in heaven, from which also we eagerly await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our humble body to be conformed to his glorious body, in accordance with the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:8–17, 20–21,

“The context shows that the prize consists in participation in the resurrection of the dead and glorification of the body at the return of Jesus (vv. 11, This conclusion has strong support by the scholarly “As in 1Corinthians 9, there is no suggestion that the prize is something special given only to some All Christians are to follow Paul’s example in running for this prize (“the fullness of eternal resurrection which “is given to those who trust in him to those who are “in Christ Jesus” (v.14), i.e., “in union with Him by [a] saving relationship with

Some scholars correctly note how the prize here is the same prize in 1Corinthians James Thompson writes:

[Paul’s] aims toward the goal of the prize the victory wreath that was given to the winner. Paul employs similar imagery in 1Cor. 9:24 to describe the prize that goes to the winner in the race. In both instances, the prize is not the laurel wreath but the resurrection (cf.

The parallel Greek words and themes found in Philippians 3:8–21; 1Corinthians 9:24–27, and the entire chapter Paul devotes to the resurrection of Christ and Christians (1Corinthians 15) makes Paul’s intended meaning of the imperishable prize unmistakable—“the anticipated resurrection of the body and the hope of immortality [or imperishability] promised to all who are ‘in Christ,’ living a life of faith and

The imperishable prize is not a heavenly “reward” that a Christian can forfeit but still make it into heaven if they do not “consistently bring the flesh under the Holy Spirit’s control and refuse to be enslaved by their sinful nature,” as Chuck Swindoll Paul teaches that “Christians must constantly exercise self-discipline, restraining their sinful nature and putting it to death by the power of the Spirit, so that they may live for God—now and in eternity (Rom Furthermore, Paul recognizes “the possibility that he may fail to receive the prize ... of final salvation ... if he should stop living a holy life,” by failing “to exercise self-control, self-denial and love in our relationships with

Paul’s humble and candid confession of the possibility of being disqualified from receiving final salvation with God would have stunned his If Paul, an apostle of our Lord, can become an apostate (unbeliever) by failing to exercise self-control over his body in regard to idolatry and its attending immorality, then so can some of the Christians in Corinth who are already participating in

To further drive home his point, Paul proceeds in chapter to utilize examples from the people of God of old (Israel) who engaged in apostasy (via idolatry and sexual immorality) and incurred God’s “Paul uses the Israelite examples so that the Corinthians will repent and not due to their own idolatrous and immoral behavior.

For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our were all under the cloud and all went through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with the majority of them, for they were struck down in the desert. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we should not be desirers [or “cravers,” Garland 2003: 447] of evil things, just as those also desired [“craved,” Garland 2003:447; cf. them, and not become idolaters, as some of them did, just as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play,” nor commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed sexual immorality, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day, nor put Christ to the test, as some of them tested him, and were destroyed by snakes, nor grumble, just as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to those people as an example, but are written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, the one who thinks that he stands must watch out lest he fall. Temptation has not come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also make a way out together with the temptation, so that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. (1Corinthians 10:1–14,

The connecting word beginning this section “has an important role in linking the argument of chapter 10 to chapter 9. The danger of being ‘disqualified’ from salvation (9:27) is real, as the history of Israel “Paul warns the Corinthians about the danger of apostasy” and draws parallels “between the experience of Israel and the church of Jesus Christ, and a litany of Israel’s sins are noted so as to admonish the church not to fall as Israel This section “fits perfectly” with Paul’s purpose throughout chapters 8–10 of persuading Christians to “be fleeing from idolatry” (10:14, David Garland provides a nice summary of Paul’s teaching here:

He appeals to the OT as an authoritative source and to the history of Israel as directly applicable to Christians in Corinth. The example of “the fathers” horrifying end highlights the peril in which the Corinthians place themselves by consorting with idols. Violating their covenant obligations and putting the Lord to the test is suicidal. Though the fathers experienced divine provisions, the presence of Christ, and a prefigurement of baptism and the Lord’s supper, they failed to enter the promised land because of their idolatry. Their fall is a direct warning to the Corinthians because the Scriptures directly apply to them. If they dally at pagan feasts, they can expect the same fate. They are not to be cravers of evil (10:6) or idolaters [or sexually (10:7–8) and are not to put the Lord to the test (10:9) or grumble (10:10) if they expect their relationship to remain secure.... If they are faithful exclusively to God, they will never be in a situation too difficult for God to sustain them and to empower them to endure (10:13).

Paul’s exposition of the Scriptures draws out surprising connections between the demise of the wilderness generation and the situation of the Corinthian Christians.... Like Israel of old, the Corinthians have been set free from their past and have been set on a pilgrimage to an eschatological [i.e., future and final] promised They may be derailed by an insatiable craving (a lack of self-control, 9:25) and by idolatry, as Israel of old was. The bold Corinthians may not fear the power of idols, but they should fear the wrath of

“Therefore, the one who thinks that he stands must watch lest he fall” (1Corinthians 10:12, This and “chilling of Paul’s teaching here strikes a blow to those Christians who confidently think that they are standing eternally safe and secure in their covenantal relationship with God while engaging in the sin of “idolatry and its attendant

This standing is “short hand for standing in the faith (1Corinthians 16:13; cf. also 15:1; 2Corinthians 1:24; Romans 5:2; 11:20; 14:4; so Wolff 1996: or “persevering in The opposite of standing in faith is to “fall” from The Christians in Corinth are presently standing in a genuine faith relationship with God through Christ, but there exists “a real danger of falling into if they continue to participate in the same sins of idolatry and immorality that the people of God of old

This “fall” “does not merely indicate” a fall into since some of the Christians are already sinning by way of idolatry and immorality (1Corinthians 6:12–20; 8:1–13; This is a “catastrophic fall” from whereby the believer becomes an unbeliever (commits an and is no longer in a saving relationship with God through Contextually, verse 12 can

not be referred to anything else other than to the danger of apostasy, which is an ever-present POSSIBILITY for all of the saved in Christ as long as they are under the probation of earthly existence.... Unless there is a real and present danger of falling away so as to be lost, the message of this whole chapter is meaningless. “The history of Israel not only showed the mere possibility of apostasy, but demonstrated its actual reality and the sad prevalence of it” [McGarvey & Pendleton 1916:

If some Christians want to persist in eating food offered to false gods in pagan temples, they will eventually fall away from God and become idolaters who will be excluded from entering God’s Kingdom (1Corinthians 6:9–10; cf. Ephesians 5:3–11; Galatians 5:19–21; Revelation 21:8, 27; Thus, this “fall” (10:12) is equivalent to becoming “disqualified” from receiving the “imperishable” prize of final salvation with God in His kingdom in an imperishable resurrected body (9:24–25; 1Corinthians 15:21ff). Both this fall and can come about through a lack of self-control that is expected to flow out of faith and be driven by love (1Corinthians 1:18–21; 8:11–13; 10:31–11:1; 13:1–7; cf. 2Peter 1:3–11). Oropeza’s (2000: 193) expanded paraphrase on what Paul is saying in 1Corinthians 10:12 is right on the mark:

For this reason—the summation of what I have just written regarding the Israelites in the wilderness—the individual Christians in your congregation who think they stand securely in their faith because of their conversion-initiation and partaking of spiritual graces, beware! They too could apostatise by practicing the same vices as the Israelites, and they would also suffer divine judgment so that they do not enter the future kingdom of our Lord.

The intensity of the climactic warning in 10:12 is partially relieved by Paul’s encouraging words in “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it”

Paul understands that other people face similar struggles with the temptation to sin against God and His revealed will. The temptation to eat food offered to idols in an idol’s temple “can be successfully overcome” with the assistance obtained from a faithful God who “can be relied” upon “to prevent the temptation from going beyond what the believer is able to endure.... God will certainly help the one who is tempted if that person really wants God’s help applies “only to those who seek way (10:13) of the everyday temptations of the Christian God’s help does “not apply to those who,” like some Christians in Corinth, “are ready to walk right into a situation fraught with “This involves more than merely a passive waiting on God but active resistance—the Corinthians in this situation must resolve to flee from idolatry They must stop dining with the very real demonic powers that fuel idolatry at these temple dining rooms. “For Paul, perseverance here implies divine assistance plus human endurance. He is conveying to the Corinthians that apostasy is a real danger, while perseverance is a real

Paul’s listeners are confronted with a choice: follow Paul’s example ... running (by faith) with self-control inspired by Christ’s crucified love and obtain the imperishable prize of resurrection to eternal life with God in an imperishable body that is perfectly transformed to enter God’s imperishable Kingdom; or follow Israel’s example ... continue to crave evil things (idol food, sex) and become an idolater/sexually immoral person who shares in their final destiny—exclusion from entering God’s imperishable God is faithful to help them with overcoming the temptations they are facing, but like the people of God of old, they can fail to rely upon and trust their faithful God for His divine assistance. The faithfulness of God is of no avail for unfaithful men.

major athletic games in Greece were the Olympics (held at Olympia); Pythian (held at Delphi); Nemean (held at Nemea); and Isthmian (held at Corinth).

do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown” (25b, The word “crown” is not in the Greek text after “imperishable,” but some translations decide it belongs A better choice would be to connect “the prize” to the word “imperishable.” Athletes competed for a perishable prize (a wreath/crown made out of celery at the Isthmian games), but Paul commands his readers to “Run in such a way that you may win” the prize in the Christian race. This prize is not perishable but imperishable in nature. Thus, Christians are to be running the Christian race in such a way (i.e., with athletic like self-control, v. 25a) so as to win an imperishable prize (v. 25b). What is this imperishable prize will be discovered in this chapter as we pay close attention to the immediate and larger context of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

course, this chapter builds upon what we discussed in the previous chapter and is important to accurately interpreting 1 Corinthians 9:24–27.

athletic imagery in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 “is all part of his argument that ‘believers should abstain from sacrificial meals’” (Garland 2003b: 191; and quoting Smit, “‘Do not be Idolaters’,” 490).

connection between idolatry and sexual immorality will show up later in chapter ten when Paul uses Israel’s involvement in these sins as warning examples that brought divine judgment upon the people of God of old. We should note another problem for Christians attending these formal meals was the wine that flowed freely throughout the dinner. To drink in excess (drunkenness) was a real temptation that attended these meals, especially when the after-dinner entertainment involved drinking games.

a resident of Corinth in A.D. 50–52, he [Paul] had probably witnessed the Isthmian Games in the spring of A.D. 51. This prestigious event, second only to the Olympic Games, was celebrated every two years about ten miles from Corinth. The basic athletic events included racing, wrestling, jumping, boxing, hurling the javelin, and throwing the discus” (Lockwood 2000: 318). While we cannot be certain that Paul attended the Isthmian games in 51, “Paul almost certainly would have done business with those visiting the games, and probably with those competing in them as well. He may have made some tents in which many of the visitors stayed” (Ciampa & Rosner 2010: 436).

the Olympian and Pythian games the victor’s wreath was made of laurel; at the Nemean games, celery; at the Isthmian games, originally pine, then later celery—and withered celery at that . . .” (Garland 2003a: 445).

1987: 434.

running” is a present active imperative and “The continuous character of the action is significant: ‘Run persistently’...” (Brookins & Longenecker 2016: 223). “The image of ‘running’ suggests a continuing exertion ... but the key is [running with] ‘self-control’” (Garland 2003a: 440).

1987: 434.

1987: 435.

entrant in the Olympic Games was required to devote ten months to strict training. Presumably the same rule applied to the games at Isthmian” (Lockwood 2000: 318). Athletes would hire trainers who would provide guidance in their training habits (exercise, eating, drinking) to help them achieve their goal of winning the perishable prize. See http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC021EN.html and http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TB013EN.html for more on training and trainers.

& Rosner 2010: 438.

http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC022EN.html on the self-control and discipline athletes were praised for in the ancient world.

Oropeza 2012a: 124 and Mitchell 1991: 249.

2003: 441. BDAG 274: “to keep one’s emotions, impulses, or desires under control, control oneself,

Lockwood 2000: 318. We would suggest that Peter’s view that the moral fruit of self-control flows out of faith, culminates in love (2 Peter 1:5–7), and is synonymous with Paul’s “faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6,

2000: 318.

Paul has already affirmed in chapter one that those “being saved” (v. 18) by God are none other than those who keep on “believing/trusting” (v. 21) in the Gospel message of Christ crucified, then any Christian “running” to win the imperishable prize of the Christian race necessarily requires an ongoing trust in Christ. It should be noted that at the end of his letter Paul commands the Corinthians to “stand firm in faith” (1 Corinthians 16:13), which is “another reference to their need to be firmly grounded on the foundation of the gospel” (Mitchell 1991: 110) message of Christ crucified, resurrected, and coming again. Therefore, even if faith or trust is not explicitly stated, it is presupposed in Paul’s own theology of how God saves people from first to last—by grace through faith. We should mention that near the end of Paul’s own race, before he is to be killed by the emperor Nero, he proclaims that he has “finished the race” and that he has “kept the faith” or “kept on believing” (2 Timothy 4:7; see our full discussion in ch. 13). Paul’s running in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 is likewise done by faith even if it is not explicitly stated. Thus, Paul’s running (by faith) in the Christian race to receive the imperishable prize should never be considered a form of “salvation by works.”

when some once-saved-always-saved adherents do explain what this prize represents, they often make an assertion while providing little to no evidence from the immediate and larger context for supporting their view, or how their view helps to further Paul’s goal of getting Christians to stop eating idol food in an idol’s temple, i.e., to be fleeing from idolatry (10:14).

Greek word hupōpiazō is variously translated as: my body hard,” my body,” a blow to my body,” my body,” Thus, refers to the metaphorical ‘beating’ of one’s body in the context of self-discipline” (Renn 1035).

Greek word doulagōgeō refers “to ‘subduing’ the body (i.e., bringing it under control)” (Renn 943).

range of meanings for adokimos is: “not standing the test, worthless, disqualified, unfit, reprehensible” (Haarbeck, NIDNTT 3:808). Context determines the meaning of this word. The athletic imagery that Paul employs in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27, where he and other Christians are to be running in such a way so as to win the prize, suggests to us that “disqualified” 18; F&M: 35; from receiving the imperishable prize best captures Paul’s intended meaning. The translation “disqualified” is further warranted when we realize that Paul’s original readers knew ancient athletes could be disqualified from receiving the perishable wreath if they were found to have cheated in the games. Furthermore, Paul himself knew that “an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5) of the athletic games.

Baker 1984: 84.

Smith 2006: 271–272. Smith (2006: 272–273) notes that Gundry Volf, in her book Paul & as holding to this view as well. John MacArthur (1984: 149) has a similar view when he says Paul “could be disqualified, not for salvation but from holy living and useful service.”

Jay Smith 1994: 466.

Smith 1994: 466. Smith does not determine in this article whether the loss of this prize refers to a loss of a reward or of final salvation with God.

1993: 213.

does not run aimlessly BDAG 19: “not as one who has no fixed goal”), nor does he box or throw punches that hit the air BDAG 219: “of unskilled boxers, who miss their mark”). The metaphors of running and boxing (with the intended goal of winning the race or the boxing match) “suggests that they should be understood together and probably make the same point, such that not beating the air is similar to not running aimlessly” Ciampa & Rosner 2010: 440, who is following Schmidt here). We agree with Schreiner and Caneday (2001: 114) that the metaphors of running and boxing in such a way so as to win the imperishable prize represent “obedient faith.”

2017: 125. Note the present tense verbs used by Paul in verses 26–27 (running, boxing, discipling, making [his body] his slave). These verbs bring out Paul’s constant desire to be running the Christian race (by faith with self-control motivated by love) in order to win the imperishable prize and avoid disqualification from receiving it.

(2017: 95) says it “is the connection between 9:24–27 and 10:1–5,” (noting the connective word in 10:1—for, or “because”) that provides the strongest reason to understand disqualified (Greek: as a reference to future and final salvation with God. The examples of the Israelites are used to demonstrate “the threat of becoming [disqualified] and the importance of running in such a way as to get the crown/prize.” He writes: “If the flow of thought runs like this—‘run in such a way to get the prize, like I do, not wanting to be disqualified, because our forefathers all experienced spiritual blessings and yet still got scattered and in many cases destroyed in the desert’—then the case for reading 9:24–27 as about the possible loss of final salvation is strengthened enormously” (Wilson 2017: 95). He goes on to give three reasons as to why Paul is indeed arguing in this manner (pages 95–96). Our own conclusions agree with Wilson’s three reasons.

Hillyer 1970: 1063; S. Johnson 1962: 617.

agree with Caneday that this view is found in numerous books and Bible study notes and likely owes its widespread popularity in large part to the impact of the notes apparatus in two places within The New Scofield Reference The note attached to 1 Corinthians 9:27 summarily asserts, “The apostle is writing of service, not of salvation. He is not expressing fear that he may fail of salvation but of his crowns” New Scofield Reference (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), 1241]. The note also directs readers to the fuller comment on 1 Corinthians 3:14, which states,

God in the N.T. Scriptures offers to the lost, salvation; and for the faithful service of the saved, He offers rewards. The passages are easily distinguished by remembering that salvation is invariably spoken of as a free gift (e.g., Jn. 4:10; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8–9), whereas rewards are earned by works (Mt. 10:42; Lk. 19:17; 1 Cor. 9:24–25; 2 Tim. 4:7–8; Rev. 2:10; 22:12). A further distinction is that salvation is a present possession (Lk. 7:50; Jn. 3:36; 5:24; 6:47), whereas rewards are a future attainment, to be given at the rapture (2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12). (Caneday 2005: 7)

We have already made our case that passages with this “crown” imagery (2 Timothy 4:7–8, Revelation 2:10, James 1:12) do not in any way teach salvation by works as Scofield and others suggest, but just the opposite—those who keep on loving God and His appearing, and persevere in faith/faithfulness to Jesus will receive as a gift, or be metaphorically “crowned” with eternal life, final righteousness, or in short: final salvation with God (see our discussion in chapter 13). Based on our interpretive conclusions to follow, 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 will follow these other “crown” passages in referring to final salvation as well. Furthermore, we have already made our case that 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 is not about all believers receiving or forfeiting a heavenly reward depending on how faithful they serve God. The passage is specifically addressing teachers-leaders in the church who are commanded to build up the community on good teaching that adheres to the foundational message of Christ crucified. See our full discussion in chapter 22.

2003a: 389; So Barrett 1968: 196; Conzelmann 1975: 149 n. 38; Fee 1987: 387–388; Cheung 1999: 129; Schreiner 2018: 177; Oropeza 2012a: 95; Robinson 84. Cf. BDAG 116, who sees “eternal death;” Abbott-Smith 52: “loss of eternal life” Thayer 64). See the previous chapter for fuller discussion.

EDNT 3:248.

2010: 656

2005: 186.

1993: 214.

engages in a “consistent pattern of waiving his individual rights in order to orient his actions toward the salvation of others, a pattern of life that is analogous to Christ’s (9:19; compare Phil 2:7)” (Andy Johnson 2020: 746).

610: save in the technical biblical sense;—negatively, to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment ... to save ... from the punitive wrath of God at the judgment of the last day...; positively, to make one a partaker of the salvation by So BDAG 982; Cremer 533–534.

faithful work for the Gospel Paul here hopes to be a partaker of the blessings of salvation which it promises” (Hauck TDNT 3:804, n. 52).

2005: 20. Paul’s words are not self-serving, for he is simply placing himself alongside those whom he is ministering the Gospel to Fee 1987: 432). “Paul’s concern is what he expresses to his younger pastoral associate, Timothy, when he admonishes, ‘Watch yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things, for if you do this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you’ (1 Tim. 4:16)” (Caneday 2005: 20). Others acknowledge that in 9:23 Paul is talking about participating in the blessings of final salvation the Gospel promises (Godet 1889: 2:42, 43; Fee 1987: 432; Lockwood 2000: 315; Gorman 2017: 311).

70.

1258: of inducing [a person] to

Fn. #40 above on

1993: 214.

2017: 123; Wilson 2017: 93–95; Witherington 1995: 214; Travis 2009: 161; Gorman 2017: 311; Andy Johnson 2020: 746; Stamps 1992: 1791; Moffatt 1938: 127. Other commentators imply “final salvation” but simply use “salvation” Garland 2003a: 443–445; Fisk 2000: 60–61; Yinger 1999: 249, 252). Fee (1987: 459) calls the prize an “eschatological prize” that refers to “eternal salvation.” J. Schneider says, “All present warnings, discipline and punishment have as their purpose that we should not forfeit this eschatological [i.e., future and final] salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 5:1–13; 9:24–27; 2Corinthians 2:10)” 3:214). We are certain this last scriptural reference is supposed to be 2Corinthians 7:10.

1993: 472; Lockwood 2000: 318–321; Baker 2009: 137; Mare 1976: 246; Soards 1999: 197; Gundry 2010: 659; Picirilli 1987: 134–135; Kraft, EDNT 3:274; Blomberg 1992: 163, 170; Coffman 1984: 7:141; Beet 1882: 157.

& Caneday 2001: 114.

2015: 2343. “[The imperishable prize/crown represents] the resurrection of the body to an imperishable state” (Garrison 1993: 215). “[The prize Christians are running to win is] the imperishable life in the resurrection which awaits believers (cf. 15:53).... The believer also knows his goal [in the race], entrance to the kingdom of God” (Craig 1953: 105–106). The imperishable or “immortal condition of the resurrected believer” is indicated in 9:25, and a reference to the “‘imperishable’ inheritance of eternal life” (Renn 214).

a number of Bible translations/paraphrases do not help the reader pick up on Paul’s intentional word link of “imperishable” in chapter 9 with chapter 15 due to their translation decisions for 9:25b:

“They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (cf.

They do it to win a wreath that withers away, but we run to win a prize that never fades.

They do it to win a temporary crown, but we do it to win one that will be permanent.

They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

Fortunately, we have numerous translations that rightly use “imperishable” or “incorruptible”

Soards (1999: 197) says that “one may say that Paul is referring to eternal life [with the prize]. He will return to the topic of the resurrection and resurrection of life in chapter 15, but in this verse [9:25] he alludes to that issue as the goal of current Christian living.” Garrison (1993: 216) makes the explicit connection between the imperishable prize in chapter 9 with chapter 15 by quoting verses 49–53, and noting the Greek words aphthartos (imperishable), aphtharton (imperishability), and athanansian (immortality).

readers are likely unaware that most of the original recipients of this letter were not able to read. Casey Davis (2008: 754, and fn. 4) cites several scholarly sources that note that reading and writing “was a skill that was unavailable to over ninety percent of the populace.” The original recipients were primarily an oral culture, and thus, Paul’s letter would have been read out loud in one setting for all to benefit from his teaching. “What they heard was what they got” (Davis 2008: 754). The original recipients would not have missed the clear auditory linking of the “imperishable” prize for being victorious in the Christians race in chapter nine, and the Christians victory over death that accompanies those who belong to Christ and are resurrected in “imperishable” bodies at His return described in chapter 15.

“in Christ” in 15:22 “refers to being in union with Him” (Picirilli 1987: 222). So L&N 23.92.

Williams 1953: 162 “All in union with Christ by faith will be made alive at the resurrection.” Binney and Steele (1879: 472) write:

Both Adam and Christ are representative characters; we all die by means of Adam, because we are in Adam, and we are raised again to life by means of Christ, because we are in Christ; in both cases it is a representative union, and includes the whole human race.... The ground of the resurrection of believers is ... their personal union with him as their life, (John 11:25, 26; Romans 6:5; 8:10, 11; Col. 3:1–4) and the fact that their bodies have been temples of the Holy Spirit. Note, Rom. 8:11.

states in 1 Corinthians 15:50ff. that it is impossible for believers in a “perishable” “flesh and blood” body to “inherit the kingdom of God” (which is “imperishable”). Therefore, their present perishable body (subject to decay and death) must undergo a complete transformation upon the return of Christ where they receive a new “imperishable” body that is perfectly fashioned to inherit the “imperishable” Kingdom of God. (cf. Garland 2003a: 739). To suggest, as some do, that to “inherit” is not the same as “entering” into the kingdom of God is rendered impossible here. Peter’s teaching compliments Paul’s here:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1Peter 1:3–5, emphasis added)

In Revelation 21–22 we see “death shall be no more” (21:4), and God’s enemies having been defeated in chapters 19–20. In 21:7, it is the Christian who “keeps on being victorious” or “keeps on overcoming” (i.e., who remains faithful to Jesus right up until death) who will “inherit” or “enter” into (22:14) the new heaven and new earth and share in God’s victory with all of God’s people.

78: “[In] 1Cor. 9:24 refers to believers striving to ‘obtain’ or ‘win’ the prize of eternal life.”

Garrison 1993: 216.

in united to Christ as the element of my spiritual life. Note John 15:1–8; Rom. 8:1, 2, 10, 11; Gal. 2:20” (Binney & Steele 1879: 541).

righteousness or standing with “is ‘in Christ’—that is, by virtue of union with Him; and it is ‘by faith in Christ’” (Picirilli 1988: 330–331; cf. Marshall 1992: 90–91; Silva 2005: 162–163).

present-tense verb diōkō (“pressing-on,” vv. 12, 14, “denotes the constant pursuit of the goal” (Kent 1978: 146; cf. Keown 2017: 197). This “resolve” to “press on to seize it” (“the prize of resurrection life”], “should be seen here as athletic, referring to running toward the goal” (Keown 2017: 197, 198).

“goal” is the completion of the Christian race, to reach “the finish line” (Keown 2017: 205), so as to receive the prize—resurrection to eternal life in a glorified body patterned after Christ’s glorious bodily resurrection. “The finish line will come in one of two ways for Paul: his death, which is gain to be with Christ (1:20, 23; 3:10), or the day, the return of Christ (1:6, 11; 3:20; Hansen, 255)” (Keown 2017: 205).

are convinced with Perriman (1991: 77) Loh & Nida 1995: 112; J. Thompson 2016: 112; Holloway 2017: 175) that “the prize of the upward call” should be interpreted as a genitive of opposition: “‘the prize which is the upward call [of God]’”—the call to resurrection from the dead for those in a faith-union with Christ.

2004: 197–198. This resurrection of the dead in verse 11, “speaks of the [future] resurrection of the body. This will feature as a key component of the prize for which Paul races in vv. 12–14 and which he describes in the transformation from ‘a body of humiliation’ to Christ’s body of glory in v. 20” (Keown 2017: 179, emphasis added).

Philippians 3:8–14 ... the realities to which the athletic metaphor point are the striving towards the resurrection from the dead (3:10), and the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus (3:14), which (equally clearly) do refer to eschatological [i.e., final] salvation” (Wilson 2017: 93). Perriman (1991: 77) says “‘the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’ is the prize of the call to resurrection, from the dead [v. 11]. This is the significance of the adverb upward]: it is literally a call upwards, a call to arise (cf. 1 Thes. 4:16: ‘the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first’).” We should note that in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “in Christ” = those “who died in union by faith with Christ, as Christians” (Robinson 246). So Picirilli 1990: 72. They will receive a cry (call) of command to arise first (this is resurrection from the dead, as in Phil. 3:11). This cry/call parallels 3:14 the “upward call of God” to be resurrected, for those “in Christ” (i.e., in union with Him).

“He has already named this or ‘prize’ in v. 11: ‘may arrive at the raising up from the dead.’ This is of course, eternal blessedness but the whole of it, pertaining to the body as well as to the soul” (Lenski 1937: 849). “The prize is explained as the heavenward call It seems best to take it as the call associated with resurrection. ... Further, in 3:21, Paul mentioned the resurrection and the transformation that will occur then” (Melick 1991: 139). “In 3:14 Paul elaborates on the earlier statement (3:12), now explicitly indicating the object of the pursuit.... [T]he prize is the upward calling.... This call is ‘upward’ to the resurrection (3:11), the ‘perfection’ (3:12) that he has not yet received, and the ultimate destiny of those who are conformed to the death of the Son [3:21]” (J. Thompson 2016: 112). “But in context the prize is no more or less than ‘to attain to the resurrection from the dead’ (v. 11). As in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul wants to make sure that he perseveres in his faith so that he does indeed receive eternal life” (Blomberg 1992: 168–169). “In the two exclusively Pauline passages in which brabeion occurs extraordinary emphasis is placed upon the determination with which the contest is to be pursued.... The brabeion is the victor’s prize which the Christian obtains only with effort and perhaps the sacrifice of his life ... and through ... sharing in the suffering of Christ (cf. Phil. 3:10).... Phil. 3:14 means participation in the resurrection of the dead” (Ringwald, NIDNTT 1:649). is here the prize of conflict which a man can win only if he throws in his whole self and all his resources, namely, the resurrection to eternal life (3:11)” (Stauffer, TDNT 1:638).

2009: 162.

2017: 194.

2009: 162.

Williams 1953: 342. So Picirilli 1988: 336; cf. Silva 2005: 162–163. Jesus said those in John 6:54, 56, who are “eating My flesh and drinking My blood” (i.e., those “believing” in Christ and receiving “Christ with the atonement made through his sacrificial flesh and blood,” Lenski 1943: 494) are remaining in union with Him (v. 56), and are having eternal life with the assurance that Jesus will “raise them up on the last day” (v. 54). This is an upward resurrection to eternal life for those in union with Christ as expressed in Philippians 3:8ff; 1 Corinthians 15:21ff; 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17.

2017: 150. “‘Faith’ is the human affirmative response to God’s grace, the means of ‘getting into’ Christ, of individual salvation, and inclusion in the people of God in Christ. It is also the means of staying in” (Keown 2017: 161). Later, Keown writes:

Paul is picturing himself as an athlete, obeying the call of ... Jesus, full of his energizing Spirit, still racing toward the finish line (death or the return of Christ). It is at this point of gaining the prize that he will be raised from the dead (3:10–11), experience the fullness of bodily transformation (3:20–21), and enter the complete experience of eternal life. He will also enter into the totality of personal and real relationship with the incarnate Christ, be found in him, and know him completely (3:8–9)—he will, in fact, be with Christ (1:23) (2017: 194).

both athletic contexts, Paul is set forth as the example to be followed in running or striving to receive/obtain (lay hold of) the prize—resurrection to eternal life in a glorified body. So Keown 2017: 197.

Thompson 2016: 102; cf. Stauffer, TDNT 1:638. Keown (2017: 197) rightly sees the imperishable prize in 1 Corinthians 9:24–25 as “referring to eternal life, resurrection, and bodily transformation (cf. 1 Cor 15:52).”

1993: 217.

1999: 173. According to Swindoll, if a Christian consistently refuses to bring the flesh under the Spirit’s control, they will still go to heaven, but will forfeit this heavenly “reward.” We fail to see how Swindoll’s view does not give Christians a license for consistently engaging in enslaving sin of any kind.

2000: 320. co*ke (1803: 2:229, 230) says “mortification of sensual appetite is absolutely necessary in order” to receive “the prize [which] is no less than eternal life” and “the great preservative against apostasy.”

1999: 1791. “For Paul, the purpose of the [athletic] metaphor in its context is to call the Corinthians to the exercise of love demonstrated in self-control ... [and] offers himself as the model worthy of imitation” (Garrison 1993: 117).

“humble, candid utterance” of the possibility of being disqualified, i.e., “of endangering his personal salvation” is “remarkable” coming from an apostle of Christ (Moffatt 1938: 128).

Oropeza 2017: 126. “It might be added that this passage also shows how little Paul believed any such doctrine as the ‘final perseverance of the saints,’ called also ‘the impossibility of apostasy’” (Coffman 1984: 7:143).

most detailed treatment of 1 Corinthians 10:1–13 has been done by B. J. Oropeza, Paul and Oropeza’s work is outstanding in its interpretive discussions and conclusions. Oropeza provides a persuasive critique of the Calvinist scholar Judith Gundry Volf’s work Paul and Perseverance: Staying in and Falling

both the OT texts and the discussion of 1 Corinthians 8–10 is the charge of idolatry and thus of apostasy” (Witherington 1995: 218). “Now, the necessity for self-control and the danger of apostasy were the two principal ideas involved in the discussion of eating idolatrous meat, and so the apostle’s mind swings back to that subject, and he again treats of it, illustrating it by analogies drawn from the history of Israel” (McGarvey & Pendleton 1916: 97).

1995: 217.

Hays (1997: 160) explains,

It may seem odd that Paul would describe the Israelites in this way [i.e., “our fathers”] in a letter addressed to the predominantly Gentile congregation at Corinth, who of course are not the physical descendants of Israel, but Paul’s language reveals something essential about his understanding of the church. His Gentile converts, he believes, have been grafted into the covenant people (cf. Rom. 11:17–24) in such a way that they belong to Israel (cf. Gal. 6:16). Thus, the story of Israel is for the Gentile Corinthians not somebody else’s story; it is the story of their own authentic spiritual ancestors. Whether the Corinthians were used to thinking of themselves in this way is doubtful, but Paul is trying to teach them to think in these terms; “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters.”

“The language assumes his converts have joined God’s elect people and benefit from their promises (Gal 3:6–9, 27–29; Rom 11:17–26)” (Oropeza 2017: 127).

a number of translations leave “for” untranslated

2000: 321. Willis (1985: 161–162) says both 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 and 10:1–13 “warn of the possibility of forfeiting one’s salvation and therefore of the need of effort and self-discipline.”

2018: 196. “Paul’s purpose in drawing the parallel is this: just as many Israelites were disqualified because of their unfaithfulness and false worship, Christians too face the danger of being disqualified from salvation if they engage in false worship and fail to remain in repentance and faith worked by the Holy (Lockwood 2000: 326). “The Fathers were rejected because of their sins, idolatry, laziness, lust, unbelief, etc. We must therefore be on guard lest the same sins cheat us of salvation” (Melanchthon 1995: 109).

2003a: 446.

inserted the world “all” (Greek: here because it occurs five times in 10:1–3 and “rhetorically holds together this opening paragraph” (Wilson 2017: 103). Since Paul is intending to build toward a climatic conclusion in 10:1–12, he repeatedly uses “all” so the Christians in Corinth could not miss that every member of God’s people (the Israelites) “experienced the spiritual blessings of baptism in the cloud and the sea, partaking of spiritual food and drink, and having Christ in their midst,” but they, nevertheless, wound up experiencing divine judgment in the desert (Wilson 2017: 103). By using “all” Paul ensures that “Every Israelite serves as an example of those who are baptised in water and in the Spirit, partake of the Lord’s Supper, and have Christ amongst them—in other words, Christians” (Wilson 2017: 103–104).

fails to mention “sexual immorality” in 10:8.

would argue that this future and final promised land is nothing less than being in God’s presence in glorified, resurrected bodies that are perfectly fashioned to inherit/enter God’s imperishable Kingdom or the new heaven and new earth (1 Corinthians 6:9–10; 15:20–57; Revelation 21–22; cf. Matthew 25:34; Hebrews 12:28).

2003: 446–447. Willis (1985: 163) says in this section “Paul documents the dangers of apostasy in Scripture and will proceed ... to warn from contemporary examples.” While the Israelites had Christ’s presence among them, it “did not protect them from judgment,” but “increased the severity of their apostasy” (Wilson 2017: 103).

verb blepō (“be watching-out, “is a continuing action imperative ... referring to a habitual watchfulness” (Picirilli 1987: 141).

whoever thinks he is standing securely should watch out so he doesn’t fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12,

2017: 126.

2009: 145.

2000: 333. “Paul’s point is this: Just as God did not tolerate Israel’s sins of idolatry and immorality, so he will not tolerate the sin of believers under the new covenant” (Stamps 1992: 1791). “When congregants have an overinflated view of salvific assurance ... Paul is quick to deflate them by warning that they may not achieve final salvation if they persist in ways that displease God (e.g., 1 Cor 10:1–12)” (Oropeza 2012a: 277–278).

2003: 466. This is also a “standing in grace” as well (Oropeza 2000: 195), since God’s gracious actions that Israel experienced (and which the Corinthian Christians experience in a similar manner) is clearly conveyed in 10:1–4. The Christians in Corinth are “standing in a salvific relationship in Christ with the blessings of divine graces” (Oropeza 2000: 196). Therefore, this “fall” is not only a fall from faith (apostasy), but necessarily involves a falling away from God and His gracious salvific blessings. Commentators rightly note that this “fall” is a “falling from grace” Whedon 1876: 74; Clarke 1837: 2:243). Willis (1985: 156) notes that a Christian’s relational standing with God “is based on God’s grace (Rom. 5:2; 14:14) which is received in faith (Rom 11:20; 2 Cor 1:24) through the preaching of the gospel message (1 Cor 15:1).... The Corinthians are forgetting that their standing is not indelible but depends on a continuing faithfulness to God.”

2017: 110.

(2018: 206) says “the verb ‘fall’ often designates apostasy—falling away from the faith.” Based on the contextual use piptō (fall) in Romans 11:20–22; 14:4; and ekpiptō (fall) in Galatians 5:1–4; “Standing and falling, for Paul, appear to be common metaphors for perseverance and apostasy” (Wilson 2017: 110–111). First Corinthians 10:12 should be seen in this way as well because “The exodus Israelites do not merely serve as examples of people who sinned, and consequently died; any number of Old Testament individuals could be used to make that point. Rather, they serve as examples of those who, by being destroyed as a result of sin, failed to reach the destination to which they were called, namely the promised land” (Wilson 2017: 111). Paul sees “the promised land which the Israelites failed to inherit” to clearly represent the future and final “hope of the Christian—and the destruction that they faced in the wilderness represents disinheritance from it. As such, Paul’s use of the Israelites to warn the Corinthians about ‘standing’ and ‘falling’ suggests ... [two possible outcomes] perseverance leading to eternal salvation, or idolatry resulting in eschatological [i.e. future/eternal] condemnation” (Wilson 2017: 111; cf. Fee 1987: 459).

2000: 195. So J. Wallace 1855: 100–102; Oropeza 2012a: 101. Cf. Witherington 1995: 223, fn. 22; Whedon 1876: 73; Schreiner 2018: 206.

sins specified by Paul are ... those peculiarly besetting the Church at Corinth. They are to be interpreted as sins through which apostasy and destruction were likely to result. Hence Paul warns them (verse 12) against a fall, yet assures them (verse 13) that God ever makes apostasy unnecessitated” (Whedon 1876: 71–72).

Thayer 511; Robinson 583.

2000: 196; Oropeza 2017: 130.

NIDNTT 1:611. “[Fall] is also a figure of speech for loss of faith and separation from grace in 1 C. 10:12” 6:164; cf. Clarke 1837: 2:246).

2017: 130; Whedon 1876: 73.

2000: 203.

catastrophic fall from faith necessarily results in the “loss of salvation” since it is through believing/trusting that believers are being 1 Corinthians 1:18–21 (Bauder, NIDNTT 1:611; Fee 1987: 462; Wolff 1996: 233; Gardner 1994: 153; Willis 1985: 141, 157, cf. Garland 2003a: 466; Cremer 497). Whedon 1876: 74, sees “final perdition.” Phua (2005: 204) says “the idolatrous behaviour of the ‘strong’ will ... cause them to run the risk of losing their eschatological salvation.” Yeo (1995: 172) writes: “The warning here is that” the idol food eating Christians in Corinth “are heading towards damnation if they persist in participating in heathen worship.” Roetzel says this fall “refers to the danger of falling out of grace (Gal. 5:4) or into eschatological ruin (Rom. 11:22)” (1972: 172; cf. Bauder, NIDNTT 1:611, “eternal ruin.”). Oropeza (2000: 203) argues that destruction” (cf. Bauder, NIDNTT 1:610) “awaits the apostate” in 10:12 (2000: 203); an “eschatological death” (2000: 152, 196) that prevents the apostate from “entering the ... kingdom of God” (2000: 196). This is “a falling from salvific grace” (Oropeza 2000: 196).

Garland (2003a: 467) says Paul “is not addressing the question of the security of the believer” here. This is strange when Garland (2003a: 467) writes: “Their security rests on their continuing fidelity [i.e., faithfulness] to God and God alone (cf. Rom. 11:22).” If Paul believes continuing faithfulness to God is necessary in order to obtain the imperishable prize, and to avoid disqualification from receiving this prize, and from experiencing a fatal fall from faith, then Paul is addressing the security of the a conditional rather than unconditional Paul asserts that believers must exhibit self-control directed by faith and motivated by love for the spiritual well-being of their fellow brothers in Christ. If the Christians in Corinth continue to indulge their cravings for evil things like idol food and immoral sex, this will ultimately lead to their fall (apostasy, i.e., becoming unbelievers), which results in them forfeiting the imperishable prize of final salvation with God in His imperishable Kingdom.

1984: 7:154–155.

2017: 131.

Robertson & Plummer 1914: 208, “fall from his secure position and become disqualified, rejected]” (cf. Picirilli 1987: 141). “Without remaining vigilant with self-control regarding idolatry’s trappings, one might ‘fall’ and become ‘disqualified’ in the race toward final salvation” (Andy Johnson 2020: 746). Cf. Whedon 1876: 73.

the close connection between 9:27 and this passage [10:12], one might very well find in this entire section (9:24–10:14) one of the best N.T. passages warning about apostasy” (Picirilli 1987: 143). “[1 Cor.] 10:1–22 contains one of the strongest warnings in the Bible about falling away from faith” (Stamps 1992: 1789).

2017: 131.

2000: 339.

2017: 131.

2000: 222; Oropeza 2017: 131.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Ephesians 5:3–11; Galatians 5:19–21; Revelation 21:8, 27; 22:15. According to 2Corinthians 12:20–21, some Christians have apparently failed to repent of the various sins they have practiced since Paul’s prior visit (sexual immorality being one of them), and Paul was going to have to exercise disciplinary measures in order to protect the community.

TWENTY-TWO

Saved—But Barely

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through (1Corinthians 3:10–15,

In his book Eternal Pastor Charles Stanley says this passage “is one of the strongest supporting eternal security to be found in the entire He then goes on to provide a common interpretation to this passage that is found in many books and study It generally follows this line of thought:

Each Christian will be evaluated at the Judgment Seat of Christ for the works they performed during their time on earth for the kingdom of God. Christ is the foundation of God’s kingdom that each Christian should be building upon. Good works are represented as gold, silver, or precious stones, and worthless works are represented as wood, hay, straw. A Christian can live a life devoted to advancing God’s kingdom with his good works and receive a reward, or he can live a life devoted to pleasing self and to pursuing earthly/temporary things and suffer the loss of a reward, but still wind up being saved eternally.

Stanley thinks this is a “powerful” passage in support of eternal security because it presents “a Christian who at no point in his entire life bore any eternal fruit. And yet his salvation is never jeopardized. There is never a question about where he will spend

This interpretation, presented by Stanley, and held by many is an “excellent example of the danger of ignoring Due to ignoring the immediate and larger context in which this passage is set, this popular interpretation fails to accurately reflect what Paul intended to communicate to his original

The reason for Paul saying what he says to Christians in Corinth in 3:10–15, can be discovered by reading chapters 1–4 as a whole. Shortly after Paul thanks God for them, and thanks God for His grace, which was given them in Christ (1:4), he has to address a serious problem that has been made known to him from Chloe’s people.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow (1Corinthians 1:10–12,

These quarrels should not be seen as mild disagreements between people, but serious and heated disagreements—there is fighting going on in the church over who is the best leader to Christians have chosen sides between Paul and Apollos and other teacher-leaders in the church, and nasty divisions have formed. Of course, Paul wants them to be united rather than divided, so in the next three chapters he is going to instruct, correct, and warn them with the goal of persuading them to stop “boasting about human leaders!” (3:21, and that none of them will be “arrogant” or “inflated with pride” or “puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other” (4:6, Since this is Paul’s intended goal, we need to discover how 1Corinthians 3:1–17 helps Paul to achieve it. But before we do so, it would be beneficial to briefly address why some Christians saw Paul as an inferior teacher in comparison to other teachers like Apollos.

It appears that some Christians were evaluating their teachers based on the cultural standards of the They were living in a culture where eloquence in public speaking was highly esteemed and One writer said, “The Greco-Roman people thrived on eloquence and lionized its practitioners as moderns do their movie To have been trained in rhetoric was to have studied how to be an articulate and polished speaker. To be a successful public speaker demanded that you be eloquent in your presentation if you hoped to persuade people in the public square to adopt your view on a subject (whether religious, political, or Apollos was likely trained in rhetoric and is even described in Acts 18:24 as being “an eloquent The culture of the day associated being eloquent in speaking with a person having a deep well of But Paul did not equate eloquence in speaking to being wise in God’s eyes. He writes:

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.... God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe [literally, “to save the ones (1Corinthians 1:17–18, 21,

Paul says something similar in chapter 2:

When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1Corinthians 2:1–5,

Paul is not ashamed of saying that his simple, straightforward, and less than eloquent Gospel presentation of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” was not preached with wise and persuasive words, but with the Spirit’s power. God’s power to save those trusting in Christ crucified is a result of God’s Spirit working powerfully through the messenger and the message itself, not due to the great speaking skills of the messenger. Later on, in chapter 2 (vv. 6–16), Paul essentially goes on to imply that if some in the church are not impressed with his simple and straightforward Gospel message, that’s unfortunate, because he did not make it up. He received his message directly from the Spirit of God Himself, not via human wisdom. It is not surprising that later we find Paul saying, “Stop deceiving If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God” (1Corinthians 3:18–19,

For Paul, God’s wisdom was embodied in a crucified Savior, which the wise of this world thought was foolishness. To become wise in God’s eyes is to humbly embrace Paul’s less-than-eloquently presented message of Christ crucified. With this background in mind, we now come to chapter 3:1–4, which “is a transitional paragraph connecting the foregoing discussion of wisdom to the problem of boasting in various

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife “quarreling,” “fighting,” among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? (1Corinthians 3:1–4)

“Far from being wise, the Corinthians reveal themselves” by their jealously and quarreling “to be immature and Notice that Paul connects this sinful behavior with Christians behaving like “people of the flesh.” So when Paul asks them in verse 3, “Are you not ... behaving only in a human way,” he is asking a question that conveys something more serious that is brought out in other translations: “Are you not ... behaving like unregenerate people [i.e., like the unsaved]?” or “living like unbelievers?” (3:3b,

Ben Witherington said Corinth was well-known for fighting among disciples of rival If you went to the public forum, you could find a teacher (a Sophist—a wise man) who was skilled in using the techniques of philosophy and rhetoric (public speaking) for imparting knowledge to their disciples that would help them be successful in life. A Roman historian said there was a time in Corinth “when one could hear crowds of wretched Sophists [teachers] around Poseidon’s temple shouting and reviling one another, their disciples, as they were called, fighting with one

While it was not surprising to people in that culture to witness disciples fighting over who was a better teacher, many saw such behavior as shameful and completely unnecessary. Paul saw such behavior in the Church among believers to be shameful and unnecessary (especially in light of how God views His teachers, see vv. 5–15), and in need of a firm rebuke: “Stop acting like unbelievers in promoting one teacher over another that fosters fighting and jealousy in the congregation. You may have the Spirit dwelling in you, but you are acting just like those who On top of this rebuke, Paul refers to them as “infants in Christ,” which is an additional “rebuke for behaving so childishly” and This section serves “to warn the that some have placed themselves in “a rather dangerous spiritual with all their childish, unchristian, and sinful behavior.

In verses 5–9, Paul is still addressing those Christians who are improperly evaluating and elevating one teacher over another with the Christian teachers listening Paul asks,

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers [“co-workers,” You are God’s field, God’s building. (1Corinthians 3:5–9)

The readers would not have missed how much emphasis Paul placed on God rather than on His fieldhands. How foolish it is for believers to be elevating one teacher-leader over another when such teachers are simply God’s doing that which the Lord has assigned them. They are simply co-workers serving in God’s field as His fieldhands, where God makes things grow. In addition, since Paul believes that it was only by the “grace of God given” (v.10a) to him to have originally laid the foundational message of Christ crucified in Corinth, then no teacher-leader who comes after him can build upon this foundation without divine enablement as well. Without God and His grace revealed in a crucified Savior, and His gracious empowering of teacher-leaders like Paul (1Corinthians 15:10), there would have been no church in Corinth to begin with. When Christians in Corinth start seeing their teachers-leaders from God’s perspective, there is no excuse to elevate one teacher above another.

Christian teachers-leaders are not only God’s fieldhands serving in God’s field where God makes things grow, they are also God’s subcontractors working on God’s building site. Here, in verses 10–15, Paul is specifically addressing Christian teachers-leaders with the rest of the Christians listening Paul will warn them that they had better be very vigilant in carrying out their responsibility in building up the people of God in Corinth.

I laid a foundation according-to the grace of God having been given to me as a wise master-builder, and another is building-upon it. But let each one be watching-out how he builds-upon it. For no one can lay another foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 3:10–11,

This foundation that Paul laid was the message of Christ crucified talked about in chapters 1 and Paul laid this Christ-centered teaching in Corinth, and someone else is building upon

For illustrative purposes Paul initially has Apollos in mind—in the previous metaphor Apollos was the one who watered and now he is the construction worker who follows the foundation-layer (cf. also 4:6). Paul’s real concern, however, is not with but with the other leader-teachers in the church around whose building activity divisions are forming in the congregation. He tactfully avoids naming them, but their presence is not far below the surface of Paul’s language: “let each beware” “if anyone builds” (12a), “the work of each builder” (13a). If the previous agricultural metaphor was more instructive, with only an implicit corrective, this second metaphor utters a clear warning to the builders: beware how you build upon the gospel foundation of the church; if your teaching and leadership of the church are not in accord with Christ all your labor will be ... burned

Paul’s “strong here to teachers-leaders is muted in some translations and better expressed by others. For example, the New International Version reads: “But each one should build with care.” This muffles the warning and makes it sound as if building on this foundational message of Christ crucified is Others are slightly better:

But each one is to be careful how he builds on it cf.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

Better at capturing this warning:

But let each one be watching-out how he builds-upon it.

let each one beware how he/she builds [upon it]. (Yinger 1999: 215)

Since Paul is issuing a command here in the Greek (present imperative), a translation should make this clear with the word

But each one must be careful how he builds on it cf.

or ... must be very careful.

Each teacher-leader has been duly warned by Paul—“You must be extremely careful in how you are building up the people of God in Corinth.” Paul says prophets speak to God’s people for their “upbuilding (1Corinthians 14:3; cf. 14:4), and as an apostle He speaks to them for their “upbuilding” as well 2Corinthians 12:19). Those leaders in Corinth are to teach and lead in such a way that the people of God are being built up to reflect the others-centered love of Christ crucified. Paul goes on to write:

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1Corinthians 3:12–15)

Richard Hays explains what these different building materials represent:

The six different building materials ... have no special significance beyond the fact that the last three are combustible and the first three are not. Paul does not develop the meaning of these different materials allegorically; a sermon that pursued the strategy of assigning some distinct spiritual significance to each item in the list would be indulging in sheer fancy. Paul’s point is that some leaders are building with valuable fireproof material (the gospel of Christ crucified) and others are building with ... fluff (the fads of human wisdom) that will be consumed by flames in God’s coming building

God’s coming building inspection will be on the Day the Lord returns. is a metaphor for God “testing” the labor of those working on His building Those teachers who built up the people of God using good teachings will receive a reward for their labor. We are not given specifics about this reward, but Paul says in chapter 4 that when the Lord returns, He “will expose the motives of the heart [of each of His servant-leaders].” And “At that time each will receive their praise from God” (1Corinthians 4:5). While the reward will include “praise from God,” Paul does not give any further details beyond this.

Notice how teachers who barely built up the people of God using poor teachings (wood, hay, straw) will not only suffer the loss of reward, but barely be saved by God on Judgment only so as through Most commentators agree that this would have been a familiar expression to Paul’s which gives “The picture ... of someone running out of a building engulfed in a great who escapes but only “by the skin of one’s “with their eyebrows and “smelling of The New Living Translation brings this out vividly: “The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of (3:15, emphasis added).

With this picture in mind, we are left wondering, But how much of the building on which he has been working survives the We cannot be certain, but there has been some damage done to the building. While we agree that “will be saved” points to the shoddy builder still experiencing “eternal we need to clarify what Paul is and is not saying here.

Paul is not reassuring the one who built poorly (i.e., though you lose your reward you will still be saved) but you may attain [final] salvation, it will be by the skin of your teeth as it were. The point here is to stress the risk being entertained by those who may be building in a manner incompatible with the teaching of Christ

It is clear that some Christian teachers will do shoddy work in building up the people of God on the foundational message of Christ crucified that Paul originally cemented in Corinth. It is also clear that some Christian teachers can move from shoddy teaching to outright destructive teaching that destroys the people of God in Corinth: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you [all]? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you [all] are that temple” (3:16–17).

What kind of teaching would constitute destructive teaching? Teaching “rank or “false can destroy a church. What would constitute as false doctrine? We can safely suggest, from the context of 1Corinthians as a whole, that destructive teaching would be anything that would deny that God is presently saving and will finally save those trusting in Jesus the Messiah, the crucified and resurrected Savior (1Cornthians 1:18–21; cf. 15:1ff.). In addition, any Christian leader who teaches other Christians that they can deny the bodily resurrection of Christ and remain in a saving relationship with God through Christ would constitute destructive teaching as well, since Paul states that “holding on” (in faith) to the Gospel truth regarding Jesus’ bodily resurrection is not optional for believers to continue “being saved” by God (1Corinthians 15:1ff.; cf. 2Timothy Furthermore, any church leader who actively teaches and encourages the people of God to elevate one teacher over another based on worldly/human wisdom that fosters sinful divisions, fighting, and jealousy in the church, would constitute as being destructive While there are other ways that teachers-leaders can destroy the church, these are just a few that can reasonably be gathered from the immediate and larger

The warning of 3:17 applies not only to teachers-leaders, but also to the other Christians in Corinth given that Paul “does not now say ‘If any builder destroys God’s temple ...’ but ‘If anyone destroys God’s temple ...’ (emphasis Paul’s inclusive language would then include those Christians in Corinth who are destroying the church through “their boastful arrogance, their eagerness to appraise others, and their competitive partisanship—all the things that divide As Garland notes, “Paul allows the readers to imagine that their petty jealousies (3:3), boasting (1:29; 3:21; 4:7), arrogance (4:6, 18, 19), and quarrels (1:11; 3:3) might qualify for this bleak

What is this bleak judgment Paul is warning the Christians in Corinth about? Jay Smith argues that “it is difficult not to see a reference to eternal condemnation here,” with “many interpreters” who hold this Smith mentions BDAG and but does not give any specifics. We will provide them here along with the other interpreters who hold to this view.

BDAG 1054: inflict with punishment, destroy in the sense ‘punish w[ith] eternal destruction’ 1Cor 3:17b (= ‘punish by destroying’ as Jer 13:9). Pass. 2Pt 2:12; Jd

Craig Blomberg (1995: 81) states:

the real danger to fear is the eternal destruction of those who would divide and tear down the church Paul never says that any of the Corinthians have crossed over this line, but he clearly warns against the activity in which some are engaging as having the potential to lead to this extreme. ... Overall these two verses form the strongest warning in all the New Testament “against those who would take the church lightly and destroy it by worldly wisdom and

Richard Hays (1997: 51) writes:

[Paul] relentlessly emphasizes that the church belongs to God: God brought it into being, and God will judge it. The human instruments that God has used to raise up the church are merely servants of God’s larger purpose. Therefore it is foolish for the Corinthians to choose sides and pit one leader against another. Indeed, it is worse than foolish: it is destructive and dangerous. Those who build with arrogance and false wisdom are compromising the integrity and holiness of God’s plan for bringing the gospel to the world. Thus, they are courting God’s wrath and

And B.J. Oropeza (2012a: 75–76) has said:

The concept for destruction here is that of eternal ruin that God will bring upon such a person on judgment day (cf. Jude 10; 2 Pet 2:12).... What is at stake here is the corporate well-being of the entire congregation as God’s temple.... [Paul] firmly believes that those [believers] who commit divisive activities, such as strife and jealousy (3:1–3), or endanger the congregation in some other way may [become apostates/unbelievers and] be excluded from God’s kingdom on judgment day (10:9–10; 2Cor 12:20; Gal 5:20–21; Rom 1:29; 13:13; cf. 1Tim 6:3–4; Titus

For those who hold to the “perseverance of the saints,” this “raises the question of whether the genuine believer can be so ‘destroyed,’ that is, suffer the loss of Unfortunately, Smith’s wording here misses Paul’s point. Paul affirms that believers (i.e., those who continue “trusting” in Jesus, 1Corinthians 1:21) are “being saved” (1Corinthians 1:18), while unbelievers “are perishing” or “being destroyed” (1Corinthians 1:18, Therefore, Paul is not talking about believers being “destroyed” or perishing in hell, he has in mind believers who become unbelievers by virtue of persisting in false teaching or fleshly living that destroys God’s Church in Corinth. Believers who become unbelievers will necessarily “suffer the loss of salvation” because they are no longer connected by faith to the Source of salvation—the crucified and resurrected Savior, Jesus the Nevertheless, Smith goes on to suggest:

In light of the NT’s teaching on the perseverance of the saints (security of the believer; John 6:38–40; 10:27–30; Rom. 8:31–39; 2Corinthians 1:22; Eph. 1:13–14; 4:30; Phil. 1:6; 2Tim. 1:12; 1Peter 1:3–5), it seems more likely that Paul has in mind those who have attached themselves to the Corinthian church but who are not now and never have been

First, we have already looked at a number of these “security of the believer” passages and affirm that they teach that believers (i.e., those who continue trusting in/following Jesus and who remain in union with are secure. However, none of these passages teach that believers are unconditionally secure after one moment of faith or that God irresistibly makes believers remain believers. To appeal to these passages does not strengthen Smith’s interpretive conclusion.

Second, and more importantly, Paul has not been addressing unbelievers but believers throughout chapters Smith is reading an idea into the text (they were never believers to begin with, but only “attached” to the Church) that has no support from the context. Smith rightly acknowledges that this “work” in verses 13–15 refers to “church leaders building upon Paul’s foundational ministry ... specifically to the product or result of the church leaders’ contribution to the upbuilding of the church, not to the general notion of Christian conduct and character (i.e., the way Christians live their In addition, he says Christian leaders at Corinth can build the church with shoddy material and have nothing to show for their labor on Judgment Finally, Smith notes the progress of builders going “from good to bad to worse and their corresponding payment of reward, loss [of reward], and Unfortunately, Smith fails to follow through with Paul’s train of thought to its necessary conclusion. These same Christian leaders-teachers, whom he warns to be very careful on how they are building (v.10), can go from doing a good job of teaching or building up the people of God, to doing a poor job and barely be saved on Judgment Day, to teaching that which is utterly destructive to the spiritual well-being of the Christian community gathered in Corinth. Therefore, any Christian leader who teaches that which is soul-damning and destructive to the people of God has moved from being a Christian teacher and become a non-Christian or a false teacher (i.e., an unbeliever) and will necessarily share the same fate as other false teachers on Judgment Day—eternal destruction.

Some once-saved-always-saved proponents acknowledge that Paul is specifically addressing Christians throughout this chapter, but they argue that since believers are unconditionally secure after one moment of faith, this destruction must refer to “physical or to some sort of “temporal but not to eternal destruction in hell.

However, these consequences simply do not match the consequences that Paul delivers to false teachers and fleshly living in his teachings to the Corinthian church, in his other writings, and by other New Testament writers.

We have already examined two passages from Paul that address false teachers seeking to “corrupt/seduce” 2Corinthians 11:3) or be “turning-away” Galatians 1:6) the people of God to follow a different Jesus and Gospel message than the one Paul originally preached and which they accepted (2Corinthians 11:1ff; Galatians 1:6–9; cf. Galatians 4:8–11; For Paul, such teachers will be “eternally condemned to hell” (Galatians 1:8–9, and thus share in the same final destiny as Satan and his missionaries (2Corinthians 11:14–15).

In 2Peter 2:1, we found former Christian teachers having become false teachers who are secretly bringing into the Church “heresies of “bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” As Peter Davids (2006: 220) notes: “The implication is that these teachings are destructive in that they lead those who follow them to destruction, meaning in colloquial terms that they ‘send them to hell.’”

In chapter 3, Peter warned about false teachers who will “twist” Paul’s teachings and the “rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (3:16). Because of their false teaching (and fleshly living), their final destiny will be “eternal 2Peter 2:1, 3; 3:7, 16; 2:12b; cf. 1Corinthians 3:17b) and “divine

Paul’s teaching in 1Corinthians 3:16–17 on being “destroyed by God” equalling “eternal destruction” in hell is consistent with the other New Testament teachings on the final destiny of false teachers who destroy the people of God with their heretical teaching.

When it comes to fleshly living, Paul had a lot to rebuke and warn Christians in Corinth about. Paul commands the Corinthians to “stop sinning” (1Corinthians 15:34, Fee (1987: 774) writes: “The present prohibition implies the cessation of action already going on; and apparently it is not the action of one or a few. The letter is replete with examples of sinning to which this could refer.”

Indeed, Paul has to give other commands and warnings to Christians to move them to stop specific acts of sinning. In addition to Christians behaving fleshly 1Corinthians like unbelievers (1Corinthians 3:4)—which has been causing divisions 1:10; cf. 11:10; 12:25), quarrels/strife/fighting 1:11; 3:3), and jealousy 3:3) in the Church, we find Paul having to rebuke and correct Christians engaged in:

•acting unjustly and cheating fellow (6:1–11)

•sexual immorality cf. 10:8,

•idolatry

In chapter 6, Paul warns Christians about the seriousness of engaging in such sins. Christians who continue to act like the unjust, the sexually immoral, or the idolater will eventually become one of them and share in their same destiny—they will not inherit or enter into God’s future and final Kingdom (1Corinthians 6:9–10; cf. Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–5; Revelation 21:8; 22:15).

This is not the first time Paul has issued such warnings to believers about fleshly living. Christians in Galatia were dealing with their own divisive issues that were tearing apart the church. Paul says, “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatans 5:15, He then commands them to “be walking by the Spirit” so they “will never fulfill the desire of the flesh” (5:16, Paul goes on to write,

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality impurity, depravity, idolatry sorcery, hostilities, strife “quarreling,” “fighting,” jealousy outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice [lit. “the ones practicing,” such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! (Galatians 5:19–21,

In addition to sexual immorality and idolatry being on this vice list, the very fleshly behavior and that Paul rebukes Christians for engaging in 1Corinthians 3:1–4 (cf. 1:11) is said to lead to no inheritance or entrance into God’s final Kingdom if persisted in. This warning is specifically directed to believers who are destroying each other through fleshly division. Paul’s warning in Galatians 5:21 is therefore parallel to the warning in 1Corinthians 3:17 that is also directed to Christians acting like people of the flesh (i.e., unbelievers, as stated in

Of course, more passages could be mentioned that warn Christians about the dangers of fleshly living that, if persisted in, could lead believers to become unbelievers and suffer the same fate as other But we have sufficiently made the case that the “destruction” in 1Corinthians 3:17 cannot be referring to physical death or some type of temporal judgment. Indeed, “those who persist in these activities and attitudes are in fact in eternal and they are putting their saving relationship with God at

Ultimately, fleshly behavior is contrary to faith expressing itself in love (Galatians 5:6), which matters so much to Paul. Christians contribute to the building up of the body of Christ through following the selfless love of their crucified Savior. “Love builds up” 1Corinthians 8:1) the community of believers, and love is...

patient, love is kind and is not jealous cf. 3:3]; love does not brag cf. syn. 3:21] and is not arrogant cf. 4:6], does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness cf. 6:7–11], but rejoices with the truth. (1Corinthians 13:4–6,

For Paul, “The gospel of the crucified Messiah must transform not only our beliefs but our Cruciform love must characterize the Messiah’s people in both their attitudes and their actions.

To summarize our discussion on 1Corinthians 3:1–17, we found Paul first addressing the disharmony in the Church by chastising the fleshly behavior of the congregation in improperly evaluating and elevating its teachers-leaders (3:1–4). Second, he instructs the congregation on the proper understanding of Church leadership, with the leaders listening in (3:5–9). Third, Paul warns the leaders themselves to beware/watch out how they build (v.10), with the Church listening in (3:10–15). Finally, he threatens both Christian leaders-teachers and the rest of the Christians of the possibility of being destroyed by God as unbelievers if they persist in false teaching and fleshly living, which destroys the people of God in Corinth

Lutheran commentator Gregory Lockwood correctly notes the severity of this warning and whom it applies to in this context:

1Cor 3:17 is Paul’s solemn warning not only to the Corinthians but to the church of all ages that “if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.” The statement is entirely general, applying to anyone who would destroy the church by whatever means—false teachings or destructive practices. With respect to his immediate audience in Corinth, Paul’s warning applies especially to anyone who foments factions by his boasting in human beings and their wisdom (1:10–17; 3:21). The punishment will fit the crime: “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him” (3:17). God will condemn him to eternal

Contrary to Charles Stanley and others, 1Corinthians 3:10–15 is far from being one of the strongest passages is support of unconditional eternal security in the Bible. Actually, when this passage is interpreted in its proper context (chapters 1–4), it winds up teaching just the opposite—conditional security and the possibility of Christians committing apostasy by persisting in false teaching or fleshly living destructive to God’s people.

There is no doubt that many pastors and teachers will continue to misuse 1Corinthians 3:10–15 to assure their congregations and students that no matter how sinful they live their Christian lives, it will only affect their heavenly rewards but not their eternal destiny. Unfortunately, such teaching appears to naturally lend itself to giving Christians a license for engaging in sinful behavior that is destructive to God’s local Christian community. It seems we have enough problems already with Christians living like the rest of the world (who do not hold to this view), than to be having pastors and teachers confidently proclaiming to their congregations and students that a Christian is eternally secure no matter if he or she unrepentantly continues to live like the rest of the unbelieving world both inside and outside the With the stakes being so high, Paul would agree with James, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1,

“The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames” (3:15b,

Stanley, 1990: 121.

C. Stanley 1990: 120–121.

Stanley 1990: 121.

interpretation is so prevalent in popular books on “rewards” and in study Bibles, it is just assumed to be the correct interpretation.

Julian, J. A. Crabtree, & David Crabtree, The Language of God: A Commonsense Approach to Understanding and Applying the 2001: 106. Ron Julian states that 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 is said to be

one of the passages concerning the doctrine of rewards. Many times I have heard teachers say that this passage teaches that the quality of my heavenly rewards depends on the quality of my earthly work. I am saved by grace through faith, but rewards come on the basis of my good works that I build on the foundation of my faith in Christ (with suggestions varying as to what the nature of those works might be). This interpretation, however, does not explain how the passage fits into the surrounding context. In fact, I think the surrounding context shows this interpretation to be highly unlikely. Whatever one might think of the doctrine that each believer will receive rewards for his good works on earth, this passage does not support it (2001: 107. See the excellent discussion on pages 106–111).

Fee (1987: 149) says, “This passage has endured a long history of unfortunate [mis-] interpretation in the church.... [M]any have read ... into this passage as though it were a word of warning to individual Christians as to how they are to ... live out their individual Christian lives. Both the context and the grammar disallow such interpretations, even by ‘extended application.’” Indeed, “Paul’s central concern in this passage is not with how individual Christians ‘build’ their lives [on Christ], but specifically with ... how such leaders [or teachers] are ‘building’ the congregation” (Yinger 2007: 7. So Barclay 2001: 99; Mihaila 2009: 31–32), and will serve as a “warning to all who teach or exercise leadership in the church” (Hays 1997: 54).

will later rebuke those engaged in this quarreling as acting immature/childish and just like unbelievers in the world in 1 Corinthians 3:1–3. Despite Paul’s lengthy discussion to squash these “quarrels” among Christians in Corinth, it appears that they are still around rearing their ugly head, along with a number of other sins: “For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced” (2Corinthians 12:20–21).

“I follow Christ” faction may have been “reacting against the other three,” and “weary of the bickering” of these groups (Lockwood 2000: 46). This group may have developed a “critical attitude toward their faithful pastors ... and seen themselves as a particularly ‘spiritual’ group, claiming ‘to have direct spiritual access to Christ apart from any humanly mediated tradition’” (Lockwood 2000: 46).

Greek word for quarrels/quarreling is translated as “fighting” cf. in a vice list that states that the works of the flesh are rather obvious: “they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom” (Galatians 5:19–21,

(2004: 69) says, “This chapter, 1 Corinthians 3, is part of one sustained argument that runs from 1:10 to 4:21. Primarily, Paul addresses the deep divisiveness, the wretched factionalism, that plagues the church at Corinth. Certain people from Chloe’s household have informed him how some in the church say, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollo’—or someone else. That theme is still tripping along in this chapter (see vv. 5–6, 21–23) and continues on into chapter 4 (see 4:6).”

were making judgments about these men [Paul and Apollos] based on worldly values—eloquence, wisdom, persuasive words, etc. (2:1–5; 4:3)” (A. Stanley 2006: 279). See also Witherington 1995: 100.

1999: 446.

2015: 45. To lionize is to give celebrity-like status to someone.

1999: 446.

2000: 45 fn. 26.

1995: 83.

“are being destroyed.”

is a rebuke formula Paul also uses later in 6:9 and 15:33, and also in Gal 6:7. The NLT correctly renders the negated present imperative to be calling the current readers to cease a current practice or thought” (Baker 2009: 59). “The present imperative ... suggests that some in the congregation were already deceiving themselves and must stop doing so” (Mare 1976: 209).

1999: 205.

jealousy in 2 Corinthians 12:20 and Galatians 5:20.

1999: 205.

1995: 100.

1995: 100–101. Witherington notes that a disciple’s loyalty to their teacher ran deep in this culture. One time the disciples of a certain “Sophist became so incensed at insults being heaped on their teacher that they ordered their slaves to beat the rival orator, who subsequently died” (1995: 101).

Corinthians are involved in a lot of unchristian behavior” (Fee 1987: 123).

2003a: 106.

2009: 31.

Yinger 2007: 8. In 1 Corinthians 3:5–4:5, “Paul seeks to show how the Christian teachers should be viewed properly.... The ... purpose of this section is to convince the Corinthians of their false assumption of the role as judges over the work of their teachers. Paul argues that such a role is solely the prerogative of God as it will be carried out in the eschatological [i.e., future and final] judgment” (Mihaila 2009: 31–32).

Yinger 2007: 8–9. “Paul did not conceive of the builders as everyone in the church.... Rather, the builders are the leaders, the teachers, those responsible for developing, maturing, and strengthening the people . . .” (Baker 2009: 58). “The context suggests that he is referring specifically to those with leadership responsibilities, rather than to each individual believer” (Barclay 2001: 99).

could argue that elsewhere in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that his foundational message also included Christ resurrected and coming again to resurrect believers in union with Him (1Cor. 15:1ff.). Cf. Goudge 1915: 25 “Jesus Christ—crucified, risen, glorified—is that foundation.”

(2003a: 115) rightly notes that “building upon” “refers to preaching and instruction (2Corinthians 10:8; 12:19; 13:10; cf. Eph. 2:19–22).”

(2007: 8, fn. 11) says, “Paul’s switch from ἄλλος (‘another,’ v 10b = Apollos) to ἕκαστος (‘each,’ v 10c) broadens the referent, and the numerous building materials (v12) presume more than one additional builder. So Matthias Konradt, Gericht und Gemeinde: Eine Studie zur Bedeutung und Funktion von Gerichtsaussagen im Rahmen der paulinischen Ekklesiologie und Ethik im 1 Thess und 1 BZNW 117 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2003), 259.”

(2007: 4, fn. 8) notes:

English translations face an impossible task in handling this third-person imperative, ἕκαστος δὲ βλεπέτω πῶς ἐποικοδομεῖ [but each one let him beware how he builds on (it)]. Since English cannot address a command to a third party (“Watch out!” is always addressed to “you” singular or plural.), translations either use the weaker jussive (“Let each one take heed” or a strengthened declaration (“Each builder must choose with care” is quite adequate to convey the strong warning contained in βλεπέτω, “watch out!” [Bold and bracketed words are Yinger’s.]

We are convinced that since “watch-out” is an imperative in Greek, the word “must” does a better job of communicating that building properly on the foundational teaching of Christ crucified is not optional for those teaching and leading in Corinth. “Watch-out” is used two other times in this letter by Paul (1 Corinthians 8:9; 10:12), and both convey a strong warning to believers. If a believer (unrepentantly) continues to pursue a sinful course of they could: (1) influence another believer to engage in the very same sins which could lead them to eventually fall away from faith and sever their relationship with Christ (i.e., commit apostasy) (see 8:9–13); (2) wind up falling away from faith and commit apostasy (see 10:1–12). See chapters 19 and 20 for our full discussion on these passages.

2007: 7–8.

2007: 4, fn. 8. Others note the “warning” to builders in 3:10 (Fee 1987: 137; Garland 2003a: 115; Lockwood 2000: 117; Fisk 2000: 18; Picirilli 1987: 42; Hays 1997: 54; Mare 1976: 207; Mihaila 2009: 37).

1997: 55. “The precious, noncombustible materials represent preaching, teaching, and pastoral care that rest upon the Gospel. The combustible items signify teaching and methods motivated by human ‘wisdom’ (1:17–22; 2:1–5, 13; 3:19) and therefore at odds with God’s ‘wisdom’ (1:24, 30; 2:6–7)—the doctrines of Christ” (Lockwood 2000: 118).

was a natural motif that came to be associated with judgment; it occurs throughout the literature of Judaism, especially in the prophetic and apocalyptic traditions” (Fee 1987: 142).

Fee 1987: 142. “In the day of reckoning, the works of these teachers will become apparent by the instrumentality of the fire. The fire will reveal the quality of their efforts” (Mihaila 2009: 36). What will the fire test? Goudge says “the best answer is ‘the members of the Church as formed by the teaching they have received.’” People in the church “to a great extent ... are what the teaching they have received has made them” (1915: 25).

2017: 50.

2004: 79.

1995: 134; Wilson 2017: 50.

1997: 58.

2000: 20.

2004: 79.

2003a: 119. Cf. Mihaila 2009: 39 “final salvation.”

1999: 220, emphasis added, cf. Wilson 2017: 50–51; and Roetzel 1972: 169: “Paul did not write this passage to reassure those who feared their salvation was in jeopardy, but he wrote it to unnerve those who believed their salvation was assured.”

“you” is plural in Greek, and to bring this out we inserted the word “all.”

2004: 83.

injure the souls of men and injure the church when they preach false doctrine, and therefore defile the temple of God, and will be certainly punished” (Hodge 1860: 59). So Stamps 1992: 1780.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:15–18,

should add that Christian teachers who confidently proclaim to Christians that they can unrepentantly practice sin of any kind (see the sins in these contexts: 1 Corinthians 1:11–12; 3:1–17; 5:1–13; 6:1–11; 12–20; 8:1–13; 10:1–12), and still make it into heaven but will only forfeit a heavenly “reward” constitutes false doctrine destructive to the people of God.

leaders in the Church to knowingly tolerate (i.e., fail to call to repentance) a male member of the Church having sexual relations with his stepmother is destructive to God’s people (see 1 Cor. 5:1–13, cf. Stamps 1992: 1780).

2004: 83. “This threat [in verses 16–17] takes the warning of vv. 10–15 to its next step. The whole is addressed to the church” (Fee 1987: 146). “Paul is warning everyone of the consequences that would flow from all activity that would damage the oneness of the community. In the present context, the ‘destruction of the temple’ would mean the undermining of the Corinthian community by perverse ... preaching and by rivalries” (Fitzmyer 2008: 203). Wilson (2017: 54) says “the warning about destruction applies to” both “the leaders, and the Corinthian church collectively.”

(1968: 91) comments,

It is sometimes said that Paul’s verb cannot be translated ‘destroy’, because the church, God’s temple, cannot be destroyed. In a sense this is true, even the gates of hell ... cannot prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18). It must be remembered, however, that Paul is thinking of a local manifestation of God’s temple, a local church: and it is a matter of fact that local churches have, under various pressures, including that of heresy, simply gone out of existence (cf. Rev. 2:5; 3:16 ... ). Furthermore, Paul is thinking not only of false doctrine but factious behavior.

2003a: 121.

2006: 230. It should be noted that Smith holds to the “perseverance of the saints.”

also mentions C.K. Barrett as holding to this view but provides no direct statement from him. Barrett saw the person doing the destroying as one who will be “destroyed in punishment,” and has “rejected the possibility of salvation” (1968: 91). Cf. Morris 1985: 70.

who build so poorly that the church herself is destroyed are threatened themselves with sure and eternal destruction at God’s judgment” (Yinger 1999: 227). “God will condemn him to eternal destruction” (Lockwood 2000: 122). Lenski 1937: 149 “destruction in hell.” Horton 1999: 45 “punish by eternal destruction in the lake of fire (cf. 2 Peter 2:8, 10, 12).” Fee 1987: 148, “eternal judgment.” F&M 399: “of God’s eternal punishment destroy (1C 3:17b).” Fisk (2000: 21) says “the threat of eternal punishment is genuine. Shoddy, second-rate church-builders may escape through the flames (3:15), but church-destroyers will have no such luck.” “God’s eschatological [i.e., future & final] judgment” (Holtz, EDNT 3:422). Stamps 1992: 1780 “eternal death.” Gardner 2018: 180 “final judgment and damnation.”

term for ‘destroy’ (v. 17) must not be watered down to refer merely to temporal judgment nor taken as support for any doctrine of annihilation, in light of the consistent testimony of Paul elsewhere, the rest of the New Testament, first-century Judaism, and the Apostolic Fathers” (Blomberg 1995: 81).

(2017: 56) sees this warning applying to believers in Corinth who lead, teach, or live in such a manner as to cause divisions that destroy God’s Temple (God’s people). This destruction entails the future and final destruction that comes upon those who destroy God’s people, and such persons will be reckoned as unbelievers who “will forfeit final salvation” with God.

emphasizes that the church is God’s temple; whoever seeks to destroy that temple either by doctrine or by way of life will incur God’s wrath” (Kistemaker 1993: 117).

members who destroy other members—that is, influence them to engage in destructive vices or otherwise get them to commit apostasy—will themselves be punished by God as (Oropeza 2012a: 76).

2006: 230. Blomberg (1995: 81) says “this [warning] does not necessarily imply that true Christians can lose their salvation.” Those in the church who would divide and tear down the church “were never truly born again, no matter what previous professions they may have made (1John 2:19)” (Blomberg 1995: 81). Blomberg’s statements run into the same contextual problems that we bring up about Jay Smith’s attempt to argue that the people being warned here were never saved to begin with.

... judgment in 3:16–17 involves a person destroying God’s house and does result in the loss of salvation” (Oropeza 2012a: 76). “Paul assumes that the community can be destroyed by insiders, not by outsiders.... It is a severe warning. He has real destruction in mind (Harder, TDNT 9:102), and those who destroy God’s temple will also be destroyed. There is no narrow escape from this sin.... The survival of the church and their salvation is at risk” (Garland 2003a: 120–121).

2006: 230.

who are susceptible to destruction are not outsiders, but insiders, the Corinthian believers [if they become unbelievers]” (Oropeza 2012a: 49; cf. Garland 2003a: 120).

2006: 227.

2006: 228.

2006: 230.

1992: 422.

a believer destroys the church, God’s by creating envy, strife, and divisions (cf. v. 3), God will destroy him. That is, temporal judgment awaits the believer who creates divisions in the church . . .” (Hunt 2010: 2:722).

contrast to the false teachers, Paul declares: “We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one” (2Corinthians 7:2).

Bauckham 1983: 240, and G. Green 2008: 240.

90. G. Green (2008: 204) is representative of the view held by commentators that destruction in 2 Peter 2:1b, 3; 3:7, 16, “refers to final and ultimate destruction of those who oppose God and his purposes (Matt 7:13; Rom 9:22; Phil 1:28; 3:19; Heb 10:39; 2 Peter 3:7; Rev 17:8, 11; BDAG 127; A. Oepke, TDNT 1:396–397; H. C. Hahn NIDNTT 1:462–66). It is, therefore, the opposite of salvation (Phil 1:28; Heb 10:39) and is the result of the execution of God’s wrath (Rom 9:22).”

1054: “to inflict punishment, destroy in the sense ‘punish with eternal destruction’ 1 Cor 3:17b.... Pass. 2 Pt 2:12; Jd 10.” G. Green 2008: 276, “‘eternal destruction’ at the last judgment.” So Davids 2006: 238; Schreiner 2003: 350.

EDNT 2:318; cf. Thayer 360; BDAG 567. Mounce’s 372–73: “used for the final eternal judgment of God (Hebrews 6:2) that will come on all creatures (Acts 24:25) ... and resulting in the damnation of those who have rejected the faith (1 Tim. 5:12), oppose God (2 Pet. 2:3; Jude 4), and persecute his people (Rev. 18:20).”

related word to fleshly and important to our discussion, is “flesh” See the warnings directed specifically to Christians about living according to the flesh in Galatians 5:16–24; 6:7–8; Romans 8:12–13.

are taking other Christians to court over petty issues before unrighteous judges. Garland (2003a: 193) writes,

This legal action is another sign that the values of the surrounding culture were still deeply ingrained in many Corinthian Christians and that they got along quite comfortably with the heathen society.... This failure grieves him for several reasons. This lawsuit breads enmity and factionalism and will inevitably reduce the church to an assortment of rival tribes. It undermines any claim of the church to be God’s end-time community. It torpedoes their witness to outsiders of God’s love.

problem [here] is incest, a man taking a wife of his father other than his own mother and living with her sexually in an ongoing relationship” (Fee 1987: 200).

problem is Christian having sex with prostitutes. “We can infer from Paul’s command ‘Flee in 6:18 that he is warning about a real, not a hypothetical, problem” (Garland 2003a: 221).

problem is Christian’s knowingly eating food that has been offered in sacrifice to idols/false gods which Paul considers to be idolatry (see chapters 20 and 21).

chapter 9 for a fuller discussion on this passage and others in Galatians.

presents a long list of sins committed by unbelievers in Romans 1:28–31. On this list in v. 29 is (“strife,” “quarrels/quarreling,” “fighting,” Paul concludes “that those who practice such things are worthy of death they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them” (v. 32, cf. 6:16, 21, 23; Revelation 21:8). Contextually, this death can be nothing other than eternal death BDAG 443; Abbott-Smith 202; Robinson 329; cf. Strong’s 2086; Bloomfield 175; Thayer 283. Others rightly note that thanatos entails “eternal separation from God” (Mounce’s 161; Renn 245; Strong’s 2086); and “exclusion” or “rejection from the kingdom of God” (Bloomfield 175; Mounce’s 161; Strong’s 2086; Robinson 329).

are warned not to become “partners” with unbelievers in doing the same “unfruitful works of darkness,” as unbelievers engage in (Ephesians 5:3–11; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:1–11); warned not to be “sowing to the flesh” (Galatians 6:8), “living according to the flesh” (Romans 8:13), or “practicing” the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19–21). If a believer persists (unrepentantly) in living like an unbeliever, he/she will eventually become an unbeliever (commit apostasy) and die eternally (Romans 8:13). As an unbeliever he/she will be shut out of God’s Kingdom (Ephesians 5:5–6; Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Revelation 21:8; 22:15) and experience His wrath and eternal destruction (Ephesians 5:6; Galatians 6:8).

1987: 145.

Garland 2003a: 121.

2004: 109. Paul asks the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ’s sacrificial love for the sake of saving others (1 Corinthians 11:1; cf. 8:9–13, 9:1–27; 10:31–33). Spiritual transformation (by faith enabled by grace and the Spirit) is not optional for Christians if they are to experience final salvation with God. On this see David deSilva’s excellent book, Transformation: The Heart of Paul’s

Yinger 2007: 8–9 with modifications and additions.

2000: 121–122.

a helpful critique and corrective on the moral state of evangelical Christianity, see Ron Sider’s book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Christians are Living Like the Rest of the World (Baker Books).

TWENTY-THREE

Once for All

To His critics, Jesus once said, “You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life” (John 5:39–40, With what diligence they pored over the Scriptures! Yet they failed to see Him who is the Alpha and Omega, the center and circumference of Holy Writ, and therefore they failed to come to Him for life when He appeared visibly among them. Their study of the Scriptures, despite their zeal, was tragically impaired by preconception and prejudice.

It is an unfortunate fact that many today, some of whom are completely sincere, are seriously hindered in their study of the Scriptures through their failure to suppress preconceptions. At best, such can be done only imperfectly; and it is true for all of us that, subjectively, the meaning of what we read and hear is conditioned to some extent by our preconceptions, from which it is impossible to be wholly free. It is therefore helpful in our study of any passage of Scripture to consult the original text and as many good translations as possible. Too many preconceptions can lodge undisturbed among the old familiar words of our favorite translation—which, for many of us, is still the beloved King James Version.

Many advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security have appealed to two verses in the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10, 14, A casual reading does seem to warrant the conclusion that the sanctification of a believer, once effected, is “once for all... for ever,” and therefore irrevocable. But let us examine the passage carefully.

Two great truths are in view in Hebrews 10:10–14 and context: Christ’s offering of Himself as the eternally efficacious “one sacrifice for sins for ever,” and the consequent sanctification and perfection of all who trust in Him. We shall establish two facts: (1)The circ*mstance, “once for all,” is associated primarily with our Savior’s offering of Himself as the eternal sacrifice for sin, and only secondarily with men; and (2)individual men participate in the benefit of Christ’s once-for-all atonement for the sins of mankind, not by virtue of a single once-for-all act of faith, but as they continually rely upon Him.

1.It is Christ’s offering of Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of all men, rather than the actual sanctification of specific persons, which is said to be “once for all... for ever.” The contrast between the oft-repeated sacrifices of the old economy, which could “never take away sins,” and Christ’s effectual “one sacrifice for sins for ever” is a prominent theme of the epistle to the Hebrews. Consider the following passages:

He [Jesus] has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:27)

He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:25–28)

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:11–12)

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Golgotha occurred at a specific time in a specific place. It was “once for all at the end of the ages,” in “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4), in order “to rescue us from this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4, that Jesus died on a hill outside Jerusalem. But what occurred at a precise time and place is independent of time and location. It is eternally contemporary. Its value and efficacy extend from the moment of the intrusion of sin in Eden until the time when God makes “all things new” (Revelation 21:5). What Jesus accomplished through the one offering of Himself is “once for all... for ever!”

While the circ*mstance, “once for all,” has reference to Christ’s offering of Himself as the one eternal sacrifice for sin, there is a secondary application to believers, as they trust in Him. It is secondary because it is a consequence of Christ’s once-for-all act of sacrifice, and because it avails for men progressively, as they meet necessary conditions. “The work is complete on the divine side [having been sanctified, 10:10], teteleiōken [He has perfected, 10:14]) and gradually appropriated on man’s side [being

It may be objected that we are overlooking the significance of Hebrews 10:1–2:

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

Some may wish to contend that, by contrast with the ineffectual levitical sacrifices, it must be assumed that Christ’s sacrifice does actually bestow an irrevocable once-for-all cleansing from all sins—past, present, and future—upon the man who once believes, whereby for him there shall be “no longer ... any consciousness of sins.” This, indeed, many good men believe and teach. But the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews is not among them.

The writer’s point is not that, had one of the levitical sacrifices somehow proved to be actually efficacious, the worshipers immediately would have experienced an irrevocable, once-for-all cleansing from all sins—past, present, and future. His point is that, had a single sacrifice ever proved efficacious, for the worshipers would have been cleansed from sin—actually, rather than merely ceremonially. Henceforth, instead of offering additional sacrifices, they would have appealed to the validity of the one sacrifice that had proved efficacious. The evidence of the efficacy of that particular sacrifice would have been the complete appeasem*nt of the worshipers’ “consciousness of sins”—a circ*mstance that neither people nor high priest (9:9) ever experienced through the offering of the levitical sacrifices, because of their lack of any intrinsic value (10:4). Far from removing their consciousness of sins and guilt, the sacrifices served rather to remind them of their sins (10:3). Furthermore, the continual repetition testified to their lack of any true efficacy.

The writer’s point in Hebrews 10:1–4 is only that the levitical sacrifices, being ineffectual and merely ceremonial, could accomplish no more than to anticipate a superior sacrifice that, by contrast, could actually remove the sins of the people and remain perpetually efficacious. The “once-for-all” sacrifice of Jesus is the substance of which the levitical sacrifices were but shadows.

2.That Hebrews 10:10–14 does not teach that men enter irrevocably into a state of sanctification before God through a single, once-for-all experience of grace in Christ is indicated by two important considerations. First, it is implied through the use of the perfect participle hēgiasmenoi in verse 10 and the present-passive participle hagiazomenous in verse 14, both of which possess a linear aspect and are concerned with the present Their significance is fully apparent in Verkuyl’s excellent rendering (italics mine): “By which divine will we are being made holy by means of the offering up once for all of the body of Jesus Christ.... For with a single offering He has forever perfected those who are being made Thus, while the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice stands eternally irrevocable, the benefit of His once-for-all sacrifice is progressively imparted to men as they are drawing near to God through Him and are thereby made holy before God, in Christ. Consider what the writer states in Hebrews 7:25:

Hence also, He [Christ] is able to save completely the ones coming‐to God through Him, always living so as to intercede for them.

Hence he is able to continue to the uttermost those who are ever drawing near to God through him, seeing that he is ever living to intercede for them. (Montgomery)

therefore He is able to be saving for all time those who are drawing near through Him to God, always living in order to be on their behalf. (Thornhill)

While there is no question that Jesus is able to be saving believers “completely,” “to the uttermost,” “for all time,” such saving is nevertheless Believers must (by faith) continue “coming” or “drawing near” to God through A.M. Stibbs writes:

No-one will ever draw near to God, looking to Jesus to save, and fail to find Him there, still alive and active to intervene to support their cause. And, because He thus lives for ever to function as Mediator and Priest on behalf of His people, He is able to bring to its final completion the salvation of all who draw near to God, trusting in

The present-tense verbs be and drawing near “suggest a sustained experience resulting from a continuous practice. He is able ‘to be saving’ those who are ‘continually coming’, those who make it a regular habit thus to draw near to

There is no doubt this passage “teaches the security of the believer, seen in both the ongoing salvation he brings and the continual intercession he Yet this security is expressed as being conditional rather than

Stewart helpfully notes that this coming or drawing near to God is “based on the work of Christ” and serves “to enable perseverance to final This is clearly stated in three passages in Hebrews: 4:16; 7:24–25; and In 4:16, the readers receive an exhortation: “Therefore, let us continue to draw near to the throne of grace with frank so that we may receive mercy and obtain grace at the right time when we are in need of In 7:24–25, Christ holds a permanent priesthood “and is able ‘to save to the uttermost’ those who are drawing near (progressive aspect) to God through him by continually living to intercede for them” (7:25). Christ’s ongoing intercession is tied to His ability to keep on saving “those who are (continually) drawing near to God through In 10:19–39, we find another exhortation: “Let us continue to draw near to God with a sincere heart in fullness of faith” (Hebrews Stewart rightly sees “an explicit contrast between those who draw near confidently to God (10:19–22) and preserve their souls (10:39) with those who draw back from God and are destroyed (10:38–39).... This continual drawing near to God results in the grace, mercy, and help needed to persevere until the day of final salvation and

A second important evidence that Hebrews 10:10–14 does not teach that men enter irrevocably into a state of grace through a single, once-for-all act is the significance of immediate context. Having declared the fact of the perpetual efficacy of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, the writer immediately proceeds to exhort his readers to persevere in faith: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus... [our] great priest over the house of God, let us [keep on drawing] near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.... Let us [keep on holding] fast the confession of without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us [keep on considering] how to stur up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day [of His coming, v.37] For if we sin The writer immediately launches into one of the sternest of his numerous warnings against the peril of apostatizing—warnings that are addressed to “holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling,” for whom Jesus Christ is “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession” (3:1,

For if we go on sinning willfully [“deliberately,” after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries [“enemies,” Anyone who has set aside [“rejected,” the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26–31,

The willful/deliberate sin “is not inadvertent sin ... but what Numbers 15:30 called ‘high-handed’ ‘defiant’) The sin described here is “that of apostasy; unfaithfulness to the same apostasy warned about in Hebrews 2:1; 3:12; 4:11; 6:6; 10:38–39; 12:14–15; and This sin of apostasy (as further described in v.29) is and “Most and note the Greek present-tense verb for “sinning” conveys “a sin of a sin that is willingly and deliberately persisted

Even some Calvinists refer to this deliberate sin as “apostasy, the rejection of the Christian The seriousness of this sin is brought out by the word “deliberate” which “connotes a conscious expression of an attitude that displays contempt for “The character of the contempt for God expressed by apostasy under the new covenant is elaborated in verse 29 by three ...

•has trampled under foot the Son of God

•has regarded as the blood of the by which he was sanctified [or “made holy,”

•has insulted the Spirit of

This “trample under foot” means to treat “with ruthless contempt as an object of scorn or This “implies a repudiation of Jesus as the Son of “the Mediator of the new covenant,” the “almighty Heir of all things, who is now seated at God’s right as the “eschatological ruler of the cosmos (Hebrews

To “regard” “means a conscious judgment resting on a deliberate weighing of the This “thought of reckoning unclean the blood of the covenant refers to a repudiation of the new covenant work of Christ involving his sacrificial death that provides the forgiveness of sin (cf. Hebrews 9:12, 13–14, 20; 10:19; Acts 21:28; Revelation

is to insult, to lift oneself against what is reverenced and regarded as holy and speak against It is to display “contempt with toward “a loving, living, gracious Person”—“the Spirit as the source of Oropeza (2012b: 51) writes:

Some interpreters associate the thought with blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This is certainly possible, but the author probably intends to convey something more than this. The “Spirit of grace” relates to the arrival of the eschatological era and may echo Zech 12:10, a passage that our author would probably interpret as Christ’s death on the cross (cf. John 19:34–37; Rev. 1:7). The idea, then, may refer to a repudiation of the baptism and outpouring of the Spirit during the end times, which was considered a gift (i.e., “grace”) associated with miraculous signs, conversion, and the believers’ new life in Christ (cf. Heb 2:4; 6:4; Acts 2:4, 38–39; 11:15–18; 1Cor 12:13; Rom 8:9; John

These clauses, taken as a whole, “provide definition for (‘If we deliberately persist in sin’)” “as an attitude of contempt for the salvation secured through the priestly sacrifice of This sin of apostasy is a “rejection of the Christian which entails a rejection of Christ’s once-for-all atoning death, and an arrogant rejection of the Holy Spirit and the grace/gifts conveyed by the

But who can commit this apostasy with such contempt and arrogance? This is a vital question to answer and fortunately, the author has not left us in the dark as to who can repudiate their faith in God’s Son ... “For if Unless one wants to conclude that the author of Hebrews is an then “we” must refer to both the believing author and his fellow This is the most natural way to understand the author’s use of “we” and “us” throughout the Oropeza (2012b: 13) notes,

the repetitive use of “we” and “us” throughout Hebrews gives us the strong impression that the author does not consider himself exempt from the danger of these warnings (2:1, 3; cf. 3:6, 14; 4:11, 13; 12:1f, 25).... In this way not only is the author building rapport with his audience by their sharing a common identity, but he is also implying that “I, too, am susceptible to these dangers of apostasy,” and perhaps even that “if I as a leader am susceptible to them, how much more are all of you?”

If the Christian author or his readers deliberately go on sinning receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (emphasis added). Calvinist Thomas Schreiner (2015: 324) says, “The ‘knowledge of the truth’ refers to conversion, to embracing the Christian faith when one is saved (cf. 1Timothy 2:4; 2:25; 3:7; Titus Schreiner is right in line with others who note that epignōsis functions “in a more technical way as ... saving or “the decisive knowledge of God which is implied in conversion to the Christian Bultmann says that this meaning of epignōsis is plainly taught in 1Timothy 2:4; Titus 1:1; 2Timothy 2:25; 3:7; Hebrews 10:26; and 2Peter 1:3, 8;

The “we,” along with “receiving” (by the saving knowledge of the along with “he was by the blood of solidifies that this sin of apostasy can only be committed after conversion by a Ben perceptively notes:

The greatest difficulty for Calvinism in these verses is the fact that the apostate is said to have been sanctified by the blood of the covenant.... [B]ut it is also important to note that the apostate has “trampled under foot the Son of God” and “insulted the Spirit of Grace.”

The nature and scope of the atonement comes into sharp focus in these passages in view of God’s just judgment of the apostate. We need to remember that in Calvinism no provision has been made for the Christ did not shed His blood for the reprobate. His sacrifice was not intended for those whom God had decreed to destroy [in hell] even before the world was created. Most Calvinists say that the Holy Spirit “passes over” these reprobates and denies them the necessary [irresistible] grace to believe and be saved.

If the Holy Spirit has no intentions of saving the reprobate and has deliberately withheld [irresistible] saving grace from them, then how can it possibly be said that these supposed “reprobates” (i.e. apostates) have “insulted” the Spirit of Grace? In what sense could they possibly have trampled under foot the Son of God when the Son of God made no provision for them? They have not truly rejected the blood of His sacrifice, for that blood was neither intended nor provided for them. The reprobates have nothing to reject for God has not made anything available for them. How then is God justified in judging them with regard to that “rejection”?

The passage answers this question for us in a way that creates even bigger problems for Calvinism’s cherished “P” [Perseverance of the Saints].The apostates are condemned because the blood of Christ was not only truly shed for them but had in fact “sanctified” them. God’s gracious gift of salvation had not only been truly provided for the apostate but also applied to the [one time Christian now turned] decisive act of apostasy is, for that reason, such a grievous sin and outright insult to the Spirit of grace who Himself applied that sanctifying blood of the covenant (cf. 1Peter 1:1, 2; 2Thess. 2:13).This is why the apostate deserves such “severe” punishment (vs.

For the apostate there “remains no more sacrifice for sins ... but there is something which the prospect of a fiery judgment which “will consume God’s enemies” from none other than “God” who “is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). “The apostate has made himself an enemy of God through his rejection of Christ’s sacrifice and will therefore suffer the fate of God’s fire of hell, which will consume and destroy forever, throughout eternity, the adversaries of the No wonder this “passage concludes with a reaffirmation of what the addressees truly need to be fearing—not falling into the hands of their neighbors, but falling into the hands of the living God in God’s capacity as judge and avenger

Moderate Calvinist Joseph Dillow holds that this “fury of fire” and certain “judgment” and the “worse punishment” has nothing to do with “eternal According to Dillow, the writer of Hebrews teaches that “it is possible for true Christians to commit apostasy, final public rejection of However, the apostasy warned about in Hebrews does not result in a loss of salvation, but to a “loss of reward at the judgment seat of and the opportunity to reign with Christ in His future (millennial) Thus, the fiery judgment here simply refers to “a judgment in time that may include physical death or worse [i.e., loss of

This understanding is entirely at odds with how fire is employed here and in other New Testament contexts. BDAG (898) notes under fire that it “appears mostly as a means used by God to execute punishment” (cites Luke 17:29, where fire rained down on Sodom). Then they write that fire is “Quite predominate in connection with the Last Judgment: the end of the world,” and they cite: Acts 2:19; Revelation 1Corinthians 3:13; 2Peter 3:7; 2Thessalonians 1:8; and Hebrews 10:27. BDAG mentions, “The fire with which God punishes sinners” is found in the following passages: Matthew 3:12; 5:22; 13:42, 50; 18:8, 9; 25:41; Mark 9:43, 45, 48; Luke 3:17; Jude 7; Revelation 14:10, 18; 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8. They understand this fire to be hellfire, for they go on to write: “The fire of hell is also meant in certain parables and allegories, in which trees and vines represent persons worthy of punishment Matthew 3:10; 7:19; Luke 3:9; J[ohn] 15:6” (BDAG 898, emphasis added). This fire of the Last Judgment in Hebrews 10:27 is the hellfire that punishes apostates/unbelievers (10:26, 29), who are the enemies of God (10:27b).

BDAG’s entry is one of the better and more comprehensive of the reference The majority of either point in this same direction or are suggestive of hell as the final destiny of God’s Contrary to Dillow, fire is regularly used in the New Testament to teach that the punishment of an “eternal hell” awaits all God’s enemies (unbelievers), both human and angelic. Upon Christ’s return, God’s enemies will be cast into the “eternal fire” of hell to experience God’s wrath and be excluded from entering into God’s future and final Kingdom.

This understanding of a fiery judgment being hellfire corresponds theologically to the more worse/severe punishment the apostate deserves for repudiating Christ and His sacrificial blood under the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, a person of the covenant community who violated God’s covenant by idolatrous apostasy was shown no mercy and was put to death by stoning on the testimony of two to three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:2–7). What would be worse than physical death under the New Covenant for the apostate? Following on the heels of the hellfire judgment that consumes the apostate who has become an enemy of God, this more severe punishment can be nothing other than “eternal or “spiritual for rejecting Christ and regarding His blood of the New Covenant as “unholy” or profane.

According to Hebrews 10:26–31, only believers can become apostates (unbelievers). The apostates’ final destiny as God’s enemies will be the judgment of hellfire at “the hands of the living These conclusions are in agreement with the concluding warning found in chapter 10 in regard to the consequences for apostasy.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (Hebrews 10:36,

For yet in a very little while,

The one coming will come and will not delay

the righteous one of by will

if he draws back,

is not pleased the soul of me with him.

But we are not of [those] shrinking back [“drawing-back,” toward destruction [“perdition,” but of faith toward [the] preserving of [the] soul. (Hebrews 10:37–39,

This “need” for endurance “means something absolutely necessary, not merely Endurance is “the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from ... his loyalty to faith ... by even the greatest trials and They have previously “endured” great sufferings and afflictions at the hands of their persecutors (10:32–34), and such enduring faith is necessary for them to fulfill God’s will (i.e., “to imitate Christ by remaining faithful and obedient to God, [and] endure sufferings” (cf. in order to receive God’s promise. What is this “promise” the author uses to motivate his readers to perseverance in faith?

Earlier the author stated that believers will “inherit salvation” and he exhorted believers to be “imitators of the ones inheriting the promises through faith and patience” (Hebrews 6:12b, Then, in chapter 9, the author states that believers under the New Covenant are to “receive the promised eternal inheritance” (v.15). This promised eternal inheritance refers to “future with God the kingdom of God which is to be expected after the visible return of Christ is coming again “to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him” (9:28, Only believers who persevere in faith in light of Christ’s return (10:37–39) can expect to receive salvation in “a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (12:28). Stewart (2010: 551–552) helpfully adds,

This future salvation that believers are to inherit is developed throughout the book through a large number of synonymous expressions. Presently unattained, future salvation is equivalent to God’s Sabbath rest (4:1, 8, 11) and is the believers great hope (3:6; 6:11, 18, 19; 7:19; 10:23; 11:1), reward (10:35; 11:6, 26), promise(s) (4:1; 6:12, 17; 8:6; 9:15; 10:36), and inheritance (6:12, 17; 9:15). It is the final attainment of glory (2:10), their future city (11:10, 16; 13:14), homeland (11:14), country (11:16), and possession (10:34). It is described as a heavenly calling (3:1), seeing the Lord (12:14), the grace of God (12:15), the preservation of their souls (10:39; 13:17), the outcome of the way of life of the faithful (13:7; cf. 6:12), and a better life (11:35).

By persevering in faith, believers can expect to receive the promise of “final with God. This same truth is expressed in

My righteous one by . . .

faith (pistis) →will live (zaō)

but if he is . . . drawing/shrinking back displeasure

drawing/shrinking back (hupostolē) →destruction

faith (pistis) →the preserving (peripoiēsis) of the soul

The parallel expressions connect the righteous person who exhibits faith with will live and to the preserving of the and to the righteous person who can potentially be drawing back “by which results in God’s displeasure toward them and their The “coming one” is Christ, and He “will come” again to bring salvation and Earlier the author told his readers that Christ “will appear a second time ... to bring salvation to those who are [by faith] eagerly waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28, This eager awaiting of Christ’s Second Coming “will result in the final salvation of Final salvation is also at stake for believers in 10:37 f. in light of the Second Coming of Christ. The righteous one exhibiting faith “will live” that is, they will eternal (BDAG 425; cf. Thayer Thus, “will live” would necessarily bear an equivalent meaning to the parallel phrase “the persevering of the soul,” to the righteous one exhibiting faith in verse Thayer (504) is on target in understanding this phrase as referring to partaking of “eternal Some translations appropriately bring this meaning out: “the saving of the soul” or “the soul’s salvation” The righteous person who maintains a posture of faith/trust in the coming Messiah will find their soul (i.e., whole person) saved or preserved from “destruction” If apōleia bears the meaning “eternal then we have additional support for seeing “preserving of the soul” equal “The attaining of final eternal opposite of “eternal destruction.”

Dillow (1992: 466) asserts that the word “destruction” “is not a technical term for hell.” We find this statement odd in that the word is overwhelmingly viewed by reference and commentators as synonymous with the concept of hell, i.e., eternal destruction or

We encountered apōleia in an earlier chapter in our discussion on the apostasy that takes place in the second chapter of the second epistle of Gene Green’s comments on the meaning of apōleia for 2Peter 2:1b, 3; 3:7, 16, are right in line with the scholarly consensus as it is used elsewhere:

[destruction, refers to final and ultimate destruction of those who oppose God and his purposes (Matt 7:13; Rom 9:22; Phil 1:28; 3:19; Heb 10:39; 2Peter 3:7; Rev 17:8, 11; BDAG 127; A. Oepke, TDNT 1:396–397; H.C. Hahn NIDNTT 1:462–66). It is, therefore, the opposite of salvation (Phil 1:28; Heb 10:39) and is the result of the execution of God’s wrath (Rom

Johann Michl states the “ultimate punishment” of “hell” is characterized as “destruction (Matthew Galatians Philippians 3:19; Hebrews Claybrook rightly concluded, “The punishment the writer warns against” (in Hebrews 10:27–31, 39) is the “eternal damnation and raging, consuming fire ... experienced by God’s enemies in

What is at stake in light of the coming of the Messiah is final salvation or final For the righteous (the believer), they can either persevere in their faith in God and His coming Messiah, with the end result being eternal life and salvation with or they may be among those “committing by drawing back in cowardly with the end result being eternal destruction by This final “destruction” for apostasy in verse 39 is synonymous with the final punishment of hell—“fire”—for apostates in 10:26–29, and it is consistent with the rest of the New Testament descriptions of the final destiny of apostates and other unbelievers and enemies of

Therefore, in view of the exhortations and warnings in chapter 10, it seems clear that the writer does not teach in Hebrews 10:10–14 that a single once-for-all act of faith ushers one into an irrevocable state of It also seems clear that the writer does not teach that believers are “once saved, always saved”; “once sanctified, always sanctified”; or “once righteous, always righteous.” Christ’s offering of Himself constitutes a once-for-all sacrifice for sin, which remains eternally efficacious, but our participation in the benefit of His one sacrifice is progressive and wholly governed by our continuing in faith and submission to Let us keep on drawing near to our great High Priest to receive the strength we need to persevere in our pilgrimage of faith to our unshakable kingdom and heavenly homeland.

“Looking unto Jesus....”

1903: 347.

translators render hapax as “once for all” in Hebrews 10:2. But they are in error, in the light of context. The word itself may mean either once for all, or once, one It is rendered simply as once in Hebrews 9:7, 2Corinthians 11:25, Philippians 4:16, 1Thessalonians 2:18, and Jude 5, in none of which instances could it retain any sensible meaning if rendered as once for Thus, hapax may sometimes be rendered once for and at other times must be rendered simply as once. Context must determine. The total message of Hebrews indicates that it must be rendered as once in 10:2.

(2021: 204) notes “‘are being made holy’ (v. 14) with the present-tense participle stresses “the ongoing nature of the process of holiness at work in our lives.” We have “a present participle, which indicates continuous, ongoing, or repeated action” (G. Thomas 2007: 304).

says,

In Hebrews the perfect tense of the verb ... (‘we have been sanctified, made holy,’ Heb 10:10) is followed by the present tense (...‘those who are being made holy,’ Heb 10:14 Thus, paradoxically, holiness is both an established fact for Christians and at the same time a process. Christians are both holy and are becoming holy.... [As God’s holy people they] must allow the creative power of this redemptive act of [Christ] to work itself out in shaping their day-to-day behavior 488).

Cf. G. Thomas 2007: 304 and fn. 26: “If vv. 10 and 14 are considered together, the text suggests that Christians have been sanctified and are being sanctified.... Hebrews portrays a definitive change of standing achieved by Christ in the past leading to an ongoing change of state for Christians in the present.”

present tense of [saving] reflects the current experience of the community and suggests that Jesus’ support is available at each critical moment” (Lane 1991: 1:189).

(2010: 553, fn. 36) mentions that Craig Koester (2001: 366) “links Christ’s ongoing ministry of intercession with forgiveness.” Koester argues, “The strongest reasons for assuming that intercession in Hebrews involves petitions for forgiveness are that Heb 7:26–27 mentions human sin, that Christ’s priestly work involves making atonement (2:17), and that the new covenant brings forgiveness (Heb 8:12; 10:17). The high priest was also understood to offer prayers so ‘that sins may be remembered no more’ (Philo, Moses 2.123; m. Yoma 4:2; 6:2)” (Stewart 2010: 553, fn. 36). Stewart adds, “He is able to save the ones who are (continuously) drawing near because he always lives to intercede for them. Presumably, at the consummation of final salvation in the return of Christ, his ministry of intercession will cease because he will have, at that point, saved forever the ones who drew near to God through him” (Ibid.).

translation by Lane (1991: 2:286) that uses “continue to draw near” in 4:16; 10:22.

1970: 1204.

(2005: 170) translates the Greek present-tense verb sōzō as “to keep on saving.”

982: “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, from eternal death from judgment, and from all that might lead to such death, e.g., sin, also in a positive sense bring Messianic salvation, bring to Thayer 610). Cremer 534: “to be saved from perdition, condemnation, judgment.” Strong’s 2161: “Specifically of salvation from eternal death, sin, and the punishment and misery consequent to sin. To save, and (by implication), to give eternal life” Robinson 706; Bloomfield 429).

1970: 1204; cf. Stamps 1992: 1958.

2007: 226.

salvation applies only to ‘those who keep on coming (Greek present [tense]) to God by him’” (Outlaw 2005: 170). “The Son saves completely and forever those who continue (present tense) to come to God through him to receive the grace necessary for perseverance (4:16; 10:22)” (co*ckerill 2012: 428; So Osborne 2007: 226).

2010: 556.

should be noted that “coming” or “drawing near” (Greek: is found in Hebrews 4:16; 7:25; 10:22.

part of this translation is provided by Lane (1991: 2:286), and the second part from 1:107, emphasis added.

2010: 556.

by Lane 1991: 2:273.

2010: 556–557.

hope’ is our sure and certain expectation of final salvation (3:6; 6:11, 18; 7:19)” (Gundry 2010: 902).

who “are separating themselves off from the rest of the church—are ... in serious danger of apostatizing” (Osborne 2021: 217).

says these verses are “a primary antipode to apostasy, as members of God’s family continue to challenge each other to cast off their prevailing sins and remain faithful to the Lord” (2021: 215–216).

originally followed the KJV (which we changed to the with his own translation of three Greek present-tense subjunctives that he understood as durative (“let us keep on...”).

2006: 139. So Schreiner 2015: 324; Gundry 2010: 902; Outlaw 2005: 253; Oropeza 2012b: 49. Leroy Forlines has done an extensive study on “high-handed” or “presumptuous sins” in the Old and New Testaments. (See Appendix 1: “Sins of Ignorance and Presumptuous Sins in the Old and New Testaments,” The Quest for Truth [2001]: 467–487). His research concluded that the willful sin of apostasy in Hebrews 10:26–29 “is to be equated with the presumptuous sin of Numbers 15:30–31 and Psalm 19:13” (Forlines 2001: 282). He summarizes his findings from his Appendix thusly:

The Old Testament makes a clear distinction between sins of ignorance and presumptuous sins. Sins of ignorance (also called “unintentional sins”) were basically sins of weakness. The person who committed such a sin had better desires, but these desires were defeated. The one committing such a sin was to offer a sacrifice (Num. 15:27–29). Presumptuous sins were committed with a “high hand.” They came from an attitude of arrogant, defiant, unbelief. According to Numbers 15:30, 31, there was no sacrifice for presumptuous sins (2001: 282).

With the author warning that “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (10:26b), for Christians who become apostates (unbelievers) by a deliberate persistence in this sin of apostasy with an attitude of arrogance, defiance, and unbelief described in v. 26a and 29, it appears to solidify the connection between Numbers 15:30–31 with Hebrews 10:26–29.

1876: 184, cf. 192. So Oropeza 2012b: 50, 51; Adams 1999: 1357; Lane 1991: 2:291–295; McKnight 1992: 40; Anderson 2018: 280, 282; Gundry 2010: 902; Davids 1996: 690; France 2006: 138; Outlaw 2005: 252; co*ckerill 2012: 484, 488ff.; Craddock 1998: 122; Ellingworth 1993: 533, 538; Barnes 1855: 292; Long 1997: 109; Witherington 2007: 288; Wolf 1897: 429; Healy 2016: 216; Laansma 2017: 251; Lightfoot 2002: 140, 142; Lünemann 1882: 376; Miller 1988: 308; Lenski 1937: 355; Alford 1872: 707; Osborne 2021: 219; Claybrook 2003: 54.

author repeatedly warns against apostasy (2:1–4; 3:7‒4:13; 5:11‒6:12; 10:19–39; 12:1–29)” (Oropeza 2012b: 6; cf. Craddock 1998: 49). Scot McKnight argues that when the warning passages of Hebrews are studied together as a whole, apostasy “is a willful rejection of God and His Son, Jesus the Messiah,” and “the Holy Spirit who brings God’s grace into their lives;” “a deliberate and public act of deconfessing Jesus Christ, a rejection of God’s Spirit, and a refusal to submit to God and His will for persons” (McKnight 1992: 39, 40, 54).

term translated ‘willfully,’ located at the beginning of the Greek sentence for emphasis, indicates the willing, intentional involvement of the transgressor” (co*ckerill 2012: 483). “The qualifier ‘deliberately’ indicates that Hebrews is referring not to those who go astray out of ignorance but rather to those who freely choose to return to unbelief...” (Healy 2016: 217).

France 2006: 139.

if we...

“are willfully sinning”

“go on sinning willfully”

“go on sinning deliberately” cf.

“keep on sinning deliberately”

“deliberately continue to sin”

“deliberately persist in sin”

“willfully persist in sin”

“deliberately keep on sinning”

1973: 365. So France 2006: 139; co*ckerill 2012: 483; Outlaw 2005: 252; Craddock 1998: 122; Lenski 1937: 357; Anderson 2013: 280; Koester 2001: 451; Ellingworth 1993: 532; Osborne 2021: 217.

2015: 324; cf. Morris 1981: 106; Barnes 1855: 293.

1991: 2:292. Cf. Osborne 2017: 219. Contempt involves “the act of despising” a “lack of respect or reverence for something”

1991: 2:294; cf. France 2006: 140; co*ckerill 2012: 488; Oropeza 2012b: 50.

treated as an unholy thing” cf. “having regarded as defiled”

1882: 378, “the blood which Christ shed for the sealing of the New Covenant for the redemption of mankind.”

is used here “Metaphorically, to render clean in a moral sense, to purify, sanctify.... See 1 Co 6:11; Eph 5:26; 1Th 5:23; 1Ti 4:5; Heb 2:11; 10:10, 14, 29; 13:12; Rev 22:11)” (Strong’s 2010; So Robinson 7; cf. Bloomfield 3, BDAG 10). Thayer (6) has purify by expiation [i.e., atonement], free from the guilt of sin: 1 Co. 6:11; Eph. 5:26; Hebrews 10:10, 14, 29; Hebrews 13:12; Hebrews 2:11” Abbott-Smith 4–5). Cremer (53) writes, “to make holy, to sanctify.... it signifies, ‘to place in a relation with God answering to His holiness.’ Sacrifice is necessary in order to such sanctification [and cites Hebrews 10:29, 13:12, 10:10].... Hence, too, it is joined with cleanse, make clean, purify, see Hebrews 9:14] which denotes the application of the atonement to the subject....” The “apostate” here once had “an inward experience, a former sanctification of heart and life” (Delitzsch 1876: 189). Some Calvinists suggest that “he” who “was sanctified” refers to Christ (see more on this below). Calvinist Joseph Angus (1890: 74) says this can “Hardly” be the case, “for He is never said to sanctify Himself with his own and moreover, the word ‘sanctify’ is always used elsewhere in this Epistle in the sense of cleansing from the guilt of sin by the blood of sacrifice (chap. 2:11; 9:13; 13:12).”

of grace = “the Spirit who ministers/applies God’s grace” (Miller 1988: 312).

1876: 188; Cf. contemptuously, despise, show disdain for (F&M 220; cf. BDAG 523; Thayer 335).

2012b: 50. Wolf (1897: 434) says this trampling involves a Christian, “now apostate,” “renouncing his faith” in the Son of God “with hatred and scorn.”

1876: 188.

2012b: 50. “God’s final and complete revelation of Himself in His Son is scorned and repudiated” (Miller 1988: 313).

5:505.

2012b: 50. Barnes 1855: 295, “[to] indignantly and contemptuously trample on God’s only Son.”

1988: 314.

1991: 2:295.

1876: 190.

also Lane 1991: 2:294.

1991: 2:294, 295.

1991: 2:295.

Oropeza 2012b: 51; Davids 1996: 690.

Claybrook 2003: 49. France says, “the author introduces this scenario [of apostasy] in the first person [i.e., ‘if we’] associating himself with his readers ... thereby making it clear he is talking again of those who are already real Christians...” (2006: 139). So Anderson 2018: 281; Adams 1999: 1357. “No one, not even the author-preacher, is exempt from the warning” (Craddock 1998: 122).

Albert Barnes (1855: 292ff.) acknowledges this but sees this warning as merely

Witherington 2007: 289; Davids 1996: 690; Gundry 2010: 902; Koester 2001: 451; Barnes 1855: 292.

386. Lenski (1937: 356) calls it “divine, saving truth ... of the gospel contents.”

TDNT 1:707. Ellingworth quotes Bultmann approvingly here and adds: “Kosmala’s view (137) that ‘the knowledge of truth’ in this verse ‘does not yet include faith in Jesus Christ’ has not won support and is alien to the context.” (Ellingworth 1993: 533). “The sacred writer ... clearly intimates by the very choice of the word that it is not a mere outward and historical knowledge of which he is here speaking, but an inward ... believing apprehension of revealed truth” (Delitzsch 1876: 184). This apostasy is committed by “not mere professors of religion, but real converts” (Alford 1872: 707).

TDNT 1:707. So Picirilli 1975: 92.

aorist of ‘receive’ indicates one act of appropriating faith” (Miller 1988: 309).

saving knowledge of the truth is nothing less than God’s provision for the forgiveness of sin through Christ Lane 1991: 2:292) as the author has discussed in chapters 9 and 10. truth, as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of (Thayer 26).

aorist tense of the verb “he was sanctified/made holy,” “shows that the pastor is referring to a definite past event (Westcott, 331), the initial act by which the hearers were cleansed from sin and thus given access to God through Christ at their conversion” (co*ckerill 2012: 489, fn. 36; Cf. Miller 1988: 312).

(1984: 10:224) says,

“Wherewith he was sanctified” is further evidence that the people addressed in Hebrews, and with such a powerful exhortation, were true Christians, as far as previous experience was concerned, and that they were not merely those “superficially” associated with Christianity. This poses so great a difficulty that ... commentators ... often resort to radical devices in a vain attempt to remove it.... The difficulty, of course, is the sad, unwelcome fact, and one almost unbelievable, that even after one is a true and devoted Christian, enjoying all the privileges of salvation, even “sanctified” as in this verse, that even then such a person can defect from the Lord and lose his soul. All efforts to alter this fact, whether by tampering with the text of scripture or by explanations that deny the text, should be rejected.

is no doubt that the author considers the apostate as being once a genuine Christ follower thoroughly converted and cleansed from sin before his repudiation of the new covenant” (Oropeza 2012b: 51). This is nothing less than an “apostasy from Christianity after (Moll 1868, 177, emphasis added). Ben Henshaw rightly states:

The last part of the verse creates big trouble for Calvinism with regards to the doctrine of limited atonement: “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”By repudiating the faith there is no longer any sacrifice available for the apostate. However, if Calvinism is correct then there never was any sacrifice made for the apostate to begin with. The “apostate,” according to Calvinism, is really just a reprobate [i.e., an unsaved person whom God intended never to save by withholding irresistible grace from them—the only grace that saves in Calvinism] who came to the very edge of saving faith and then turned away. The apostate never put faith in Christ and his turning away only revealed his true unregenerate and irrevocably reprobated nature. Calvinism asserts that Christ did not die for reprobates and never made any provision for their sins. How then can it be said that by the act of apostasy that there “no longer remains a sacrifice for sins?”

(See https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/03/).

provides an excellent website that supports classical Arminianism through his own posts and guest posts and by linking to other helpful articles and websites. See Henshaw’s outstanding thirteen-part series on “Perseverance of the Saints” starting on October 8, 2007 at https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/.

reprobate in classical Calvinism is an unsaved person (the “non-elect” or “unchosen”) whom God has determined to withhold irresistible grace from. God never intended that Christ would die to save these reprobates from their enslavement to sin and its end consequence—eternal separation from God in hell.

blood of the covenant by which “he was sanctified” means that before this apostasy “this blood had been really applied to his heart by faith” (Alford 1872: 709, emphasis added). The Christian who has become an “apostate stood once under the power and redemptive efficacy of the blood of Christ! He who breaks his troth [= faith] with Christ forfeits the gifts of grace and salvation that he once received” (Schneider 1957: 101).

“Perseverance of the Saints Part 6: Hebrews 10:26–30,” posted March 27, 2008, at https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/03/, hereafter cited as Henshaw 2008/3/27. He notes: “Calvinists are well aware of the implications of these verses and have come up with some ingenious ways in which to alleviate the difficulty” (2008/3/17). Henshaw does excellent work in dismantling two ingenious interpretations put forth by Calvinists: (1) the person sanctified by the blood of the covenant is not the apostate at all, but Christ himself—argued by James White and John Owen (see Part 7 at https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/perseverance-of-the-saints-part-7-who-is-sanctified-in-hebrews-1029/); (2) The sanctification in v. 29 refers merely to that which takes place outwardly with no internal reality—argued by Robert Peterson and Michael Williams together, and also by Wayne Grudem (see Part 8 at https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/perseverance-of-the-saints-part-8-what-kind-of-sanctification-is-being-described-in-hebrews-1029/).

2008/03/27.

10:26–31 is unmistakable as an appeal to ... the emotion of fear (indeed, the culmination of a series of appeals to fear; see 2:1–4; [4:1,] 4:12–13; 6:4–8). The repetition of the word ‘fearful’ ... in 10:27 and 10:31 merely reinforces the topics employed in this passage” (deSilva 2000: 353). This “fearsome” expectation of coming judgment is “an emotional tool to forestall apostasy” (Gundry 2010: 902).

361, “Specifically, sentence of condemnation, damnatory judgment, condemnation and Hebrews 10:27; 2 Peter 2:4.” Cf. BDAG 569; Wolf 1897: 431.

who have thus repudiated Christ have become his ‘adversaries.’ They have abandoned the ‘house’ of God on its way to final salvation (3:6, 14; 10:21) and taken their place with the ‘enemies’ to be subjugated under his feet at his return (1:13; 10:13)” (co*ckerill 2012: 486). “The ultimate danger that any human being could face is to encounter God, the judge of all, as an enemy” (deSilva 2000: 352).

2008/03/27. Cf. Osborne 2021: 222.

1922: 477. So Henshaw 2008/03/27; Michl, EBT 1:370; Osborne 2021: 220; Claybrook 2003: 47. Gundry 2010: 874, “punishment in hell-fire.” Coffman (1984: 10:220–221) intends “eternal punishment” in hell. McKnight (1992: 34) sees “eternal damnation” as the consequence for apostasy here and elsewhere in Hebrews. Lenski remarks: “So much preaching is weak and flabby because it fails to sound the stern warning which the writer, like Jesus and the rest of Scripture, uses again and again. Preachers think it wise not to appeal to the motive of fear. But not frightening men into heaven they fail to frighten them away from hell” (1937: 362).

2000: 355. “Rightly and justly after such an apostasy, nothing remains to be expected but which will be executed by God with the full living energy of His holy nature ... proportionate to the richness of the grace, and the fullness of the Revelation, of the New Covenant” (Moll 1868: 178).

1992: 465.

1992: 444.

1992: 444. Norman Geisler (1999: 127) says “the ‘certain fearful expectation of judgment’ fits the description of the believers coming before the judgment seat of Christ (2Corinthians 5:10), where their works will be tried by fire and they could suffer loss of reward: ‘His works will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his (1 Cor. 3:13–14).” Several problems are evident here, but we will note just two. First, the “fire” that will “consume God’s is the “fearful expectation of judgment,” on the Christian who has become an apostate (unbeliever) and enemy of God, not the testing fire in 1 Corinthians 3. Second, the testing “fire” in 1 Corinthians 3:13 is specifically directed to Christian not to all Christians in general nor to Christians who have become apostates. The teachings of Christian teachers will be tested on Judgment Day as to whether they built up the people of God in Corinth upon the foundational teaching Paul previous laid in Corinth—Christ crucified and resurrected. See our full discussion of this text in context in chapter 22.

1992: 202.

1992: 461, see also 464.

898, also notes: “fire is cast from heaven upon the earth;” (Revelation 8:5; 13:13; 20:9); “from the mouths of God’s two witnesses” (Revelation 11:5); and “plague-bringing horses” (Revelation 9:17f.; see also 16:8).

Friedrich Lang, TDNT 6:943–946, for a treatment comparable to BDAG’s conclusions. See Johann Michl, “Hell,” EBT 1:370–371, for a fine survey on hell in the New Testament. Hermann Lichtenherger 3:198) says fire represents “eschatological destruction” and cites: Matthew 3:10; par. Luke 3:9; cf. Matthew 7:19; Matthew 3:12; 13:40, 42; cf. John 15:6. Later he writes: “the fire of hell is an instrument of the power of divine judgment,” where it “is frequently contrasted to the possession of [life]” or “entrance into the [kingdom of God]” (3:200). He cites Matthew 3:12 (par. Luke 3:17); 5:22; 18:8, 9; 25:41; Mark 9:43, 45, 48; Jude 1:7; Revelation 14:10; 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8), that bear this meaning. He adds, “the portrayal of eternal eschatological judgment as a particular place of punishment is the lake of fire in Revelation” and cites: Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8; (3:200). He fails to include Hebrews 10:27 as demanded by the context. Hans Bietenhard 1:656–657) says fire is represented “As a picture of divine judgment in Matthew 3:10; 7:19; Lk. 3:9; Jn. 15:6. Here images from the farmer’s life are used to illustrate the eschatological judgment of God.” We can assume with confidence that Bietenhard sees “the eschatological judgment of God” as synonymous with “hell fire,” for he goes on to write: “Fire appears in Matthew 13:42; 18:8 f.; 25:41 par. And Mk. 9:43, 45, 47 as the opposite of the ‘Kingdom of God’ and life. The ‘hell of fire’ in Mk. 9:48 recalls Isaiah 66:24.... Fire and brimstone indicate eternal damnation in hell at the end of time (Rev. 14:10; 19:20; 20:10, 14; 21:8)” (1:657). Bietenhard mentions Jude 7, but he suggests that fire is connected to “Contemporary Jewish ideas of the present punishment of fire of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah” [?]. He fails to include Luke 3:17; Hebrews 10:27; and Revelation 20:15. Thayer 558, mentions Matthew 5:22; 13:42, 50; 18:8, 9; 25:41; Mark 9:43, 45, 48; Jude 7; Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8, as referring to “the fire of hell,” but fails to include Luke 3:17; John 15:6; Hebrews 10:27; Revelation 21:8 (cf. Abbott-Smith 394; Robinson 643; Bloomfield 381). Bloomfield (381) does note that this zeal of fire in Hebrews 10:27, “refers to ‘the fiery wrath of God.’” Renn 387: “More commonly, ‘fire’ is indicated symbolically as the instrument of divine wrath (Mat. 3:12; 25:41; Mar. 9:43 ff.; Luk. 3:17; Joh. 15:6; Hebrews 10:27; 2Pe. 3:7; Jude 1:7; Rev. 14:10; 16:8; 19:20; 20:9 ff.; 21:8).” Shrogen (“Hell, Abyss, Eternal Punishment,” DLNTD 459) appears to see 10:27 as referring to hell. Lang 6:945) says “[fire] refers plainly to the eschatological [i.e., future and final] judgment of fire in Hb. 10:27” (cf. Johannes Bauer, “Fire,” EBT 270). Michl (“Hell,” EBT 370) connects Hebrews 10:27 to “hell as a place of punishment—eternal fire.”

Jobes (2011: 139) asks in a heading: the consequence described [i.e., ‘a fearful expectation of judgment,’ Hebrews 10:26] eternal damnation or something “A Minority position interprets these consequences to be during the earthly life only and not referring to eternal separation from God” (Ibid.). “Most interpreters of the Protestant tradition do take these statements to refer to eternal separation from God based on their context within Hebrews” (Jobes 2011: 140).

commentators understand 10:26–31 as teaching that the apostate will experience ... “the wrath of God” (Miller 1988: 310; Barnes 1855: 302; Wolf 1897: 431); “eternal [spiritual] death” (Miller 1988: 311; Gundry 2010: 903; Outlaws 2005: 256); “everlasting destruction” (Milligan 1973: 370); “eternal damnation” (McKnight 1992: 34–35, 36; Outlaw 2005: 258; cf. Delitzsch 1876: 185); “condemnation,” that is, “final retributive judgment is the fate awaiting the apostate at the last Day,” i.e., “ultimate perdition” (co*ckerill 2012: 486, 487, 488).

capital punishment resulted from apostasy from the Old Covenant through turning back to idolatry, how much more the apostate from the New Covenant shall be subject to eternal judgment? If physical death was imposed for rejecting the terms of the Old Covenant, eternal death can only be the result of rejecting the terms of the New Covenant” (Miller 1988: 311). So Gundry (2010: 903) adds that sober “reflection” on this worse punishment “is likely to dissuade them from apostatizing.”

the punishment for rejection of the law of Moses was bad, demanding physical death, then the punishment for abandoning Jesus Christ and His new covenant has to be worse, and that can only be spiritual death, eternal separation from God” (Outlaw 2005: 256, 271). So Claybrook 2003: 51; Osborne 2021: 220. Wolf (1897: 433) sees “eternal punishment, the everlasting torment of soul and body in hell.”

represent operative power. Because God is ‘living’ as idols are not, then, he has operative power to retribute, retaliate, and judge. A fearsome prospect, indeed a fearsome for apostates!” (Gundry 2010: 903)

phrase “my righteous one” etc.) “supports the author’s presupposition that his readers are all believers (and thus ‘righteous’), but that some of them are in danger of shrinking back from the life of faith” (Ellingworth 1993: 555).

(1882: 386) sees pistis “faith” here as “the believing, faithfully enduring trust in God and His (cf. Outlaw 2005: 265).

righteous one live both in the sense of ‘live by faith now’ (cf. 11:1–40) and ultimately ‘inherit [eternal] life through that faith’ (cf. 10:39)” (Laansma 2017: 260). So co*ckerill 2012: 511–512.

1981: 111.

644. This is “stedfast perseverance in faith and hope” (Delitzsch 1876: 197).

2012b: 55. We should add that “the whole of chapter 11 unpacks the ‘faith and endurance’ that the audience is called to emulate” (Michaels 2009: 424). This flows nicely into chapter 12:1–3, where we see the endurance of Christ, in the face of hostility and suffering, is set forth as that which Christians are to think and ponder upon so as not to grow weary and give up in the Christian race.

are the ones who will inherit salvation (1:14, 9:28; cf. σωτηρία [‘salvation’] in 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9; 9:28; and σώζω [‘save’] in 7:25)” (Stewart 2010: 551).

2010: 551–552.

349; So Strong’s 2101. BDAG 548: salvation (as the inheritance of God’s children).” E. Hoffmann, NIDNTT 3:73, “complete salvation in Christ.”

2012b: 55. Others see the promise as “salvation” (Robinson 265, & Strong’s 2074); “eternal life” (Lane 1991: 2:303; Outlaw 2005: 265; Milligan 1973: 375, Lenski 1937: 368); or “the joy of sharing in God’s life forever (4:10)” in “the unshakable kingdom (12:28)” (Healy 2016: 224).

the translation by

2010: 904; cf. Wolf 1897: 441. This drawing back is “from a commitment” to the Messiah, is in the middle voice, which means the person is responsible for “expressing fear and lack of faith” toward the coming Messiah (F&M 393). Drawing back is simply “not keeping faith” and is “apostasy” (Delitzsch 1876: 201; cf. Witherington 2007: 291; Osborne 2021: 229).

the NT the word is used predominately of the eschatological [i.e., future and final] coming to salvation and judgment” (Schneider, TDNT 2:928). See also Matthew 24:14, 50; Luke 12:46; John 6:37; Romans 11:26; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 2:24–25; 15:4; 18:8 where hēkō refers to a future coming to salvation and judgment.

1993: 488. So co*ckerill 2012: 426; Schreiner 2015: 288.

see “will live” = “obtain eternal life” (co*ckerill 2012: 512; who also notes in fn. 69, that Rose, Die Volke, 70–77, and Riggenbach, 338 [in Der Brief an die hold this view); “final salvation” (Lane 1991: 2:306; cf. deSilva 200: 369, “eschatological salvation;” Wolf 1897: 441, “eternal salvation”).

Lünemann (1882: 385, 387), both “will live” and “preserving of the soul” = “everlasting life.” Cf. Moll 1868: 180, 181. Faith is “life-giving trust in God the Saviour, and the promised salvation which He is pledged to bring” (Delitzsch 1876: 200).

writer of Hebrews “views faith in terms of persevering to salvation (v. 39)” (Walmark, BTDB 337). “This is salvation in its final sense” (Outlaw 2005: 266).

90.

1856: 551. So Michaels 2009: 420; Miller 1988: 325; Lane 1991: 2:306; cf. Schreiner 2015: 336; Ellingworth 1993: 553; Delitzsch 1876: 202.

11:417, 418,

In the Greek New Testament the term apōleia is the principal word for “destruction” and “eternal destruction and damnation.” ... [W]hen linked to spiritual and eternal matters apōleia stands for eternal consequences which are in contrast to “salvation.” The concept of “eternal punishment” in the New Testament is ... conveyed by ... The punishment is the loss of messianic eschatological [i.e., future and final] salvation.... They [unbelievers] will not be allowed to participate in the kingdom of God, the new age, eternal life, and the resurrected community of God....

Renn 279: “Eternal ‘destruction’ visited on the ungodly is indicated in Mat. 7:13; Rom. 9:22; Php. 1:28; 3:19; 1Ti. 6:19; Hebrews 10:39; 2Pe. 2:1ff. In particular, the final ‘destruction’ of Satan and his minions is indicated in 2 Thess. 2:3; Rev. 17: 8, 11.” Cremer 453: “In the N.T. of the state of death wherein exclusion from salvation is a realized fact.” Strong’s 2033: “the second death, perdition, i.e., exclusion from the Messiah’s kingdom” Bloomfield 42). Thayer 71: destruction which consists in the loss of eternal life, eternal misery, the lot of those excluded from the kingdom of God.” Mounce’s 178: “the destruction that one experiences as a result of divine wrath.” Abbott-Smith 56–57: “the loss of eternal life, the antithesis of

in verse 39, “appears often in the N.T. as a designation for eternal punishment” (Outlaw 2005: 266); “eternal damnation,” (McKnight 1992: 36, 54); “eternal perishing” (Lenski 1937: 371); “everlasting perdition” (Lünemann 1882: 387; Alford 1872: 711); “eternal ruin” (Gundry 2010: 904; Binney & Steele 1879: 616); “eschatological destruction” (Schreiner 2015: 336; Oropeza 2012b: 56); “eternal ‘destruction’ at the Judgment” (co*ckerill 2012: 512)

destruction/damnation ultimately entails unbelievers being excluded from final salvation with God in His future Kingdom (the new heavens and new earth in Revelation 21–22).

chapter 10.

Green 2008: 240.

said: “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life ‘eternal life,’ Robinson 320; Strong’s 2084; cf. BDAG 430; Thayer 273–74]).”

the word “destruction” in Gal. 6:8a is different than it contextually carries the same meaning: “eternal destruction” (Harder, TDNT 9:104), the opposite of “eternal life” in 6:8b. See our discussion of this passage in chapter 9.

EBT 370–371.

2003: 47.

speaking about His Second Coming, taught that “at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:49–50, emphasis added). Jesus stated earlier that at “the end of the age” (13:40), “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (13:43, emphasis added).

faith is an indispensable condition for the reception of salvation at the coming of the Lord. God’s good pleasure rests upon him who is justified through faith and who persists in faith. Firmness of faith and steadfastness in the faith: these are the demands which at all times are required of Christians” (Schneider 1957: 103).

2012b: 56; cf. Outlaw 2005: 266; Milligan 1973: 378; Lünemann 1882: 386; Lane 1991: 2:305; Gundry 2010: 904; Delitzsch 1876: 199, 201; Adams 1999: 1361; Anderson 2013: 291; Wolf 1897: 442.

back = “to give up one’s faith” (Lenski 1937: 371).

Oropeza 2012b: 54. We should add that since “drawing back” in unbelief leads to eternal destruction in verse 39 (the opposite of “the preserving of the soul”—i.e., final then the parallel drawing back which leads to God’s displeasure in verse 38 must carry a synonymous meaning, especially when it is contrasted with the righteous person exhibiting faith who “will live”—i.e., have eternal life in v. 38). Thus, Oropeza (2012b: 55) rightly argues:

The result of God taking displeasure in the person who shrinks back connotes rejection of that person (10:38). It frequently has this meaning in the Septuagint where it is ... associated with rejecting those who sin or fall away (cf. Jer 2:19; 14:10–12; Sir 34:19). Significantly it is used of God’s rejection of Korah and his followers in the wilderness 45:18–19), and Paul relates it to God’s rejection of the wilderness generation in order to warn the Corinthians against apostasy (1 Cor 10:5). God’s displeasure with the person who shrinks back does not communicate a mild discontentment but an absolute rejection of that individual (Heb 10:38; cf. Heb 12:17). Lane 1991: 2:278; Shrenk, TDNT 2:741; cf. deSilva 2000: 369. Contra Dillow 1992: 466).

author concludes “this section by assuring his hearers that they are, and he wants them to be, part of those characterized by ‘faith,’ and not participants in those characterized by ‘drawing back.’ He adds warmth to his encouragement by using the inclusive “we”—“you and I.” Yet he does nothing to diminish the force of his implied warning” concerning the possibility of them committing apostasy (co*ckerill 2012: 512–513; cf. Osborne 2021: 229). Indeed, “this drawing back is of necessity from something and to something else. It is from the life of faith to The declaration, ‘We are not of them that draw back,’ does not indicate the impossibility of doing so, but rather suggests that there are those who are doing it. It is our determination, says the writer, not to be among them” (Jessop 1942: 40).

presents with great emphasis the truth that there is no possession of salvation which is irrevocably assured.... God demands from us a constant faith and a faithful obedience” (Schneider 1957: 30). “Faith in Hebrews is not a past event effecting a permanent contract that irrevocably secures benefits. What went before is good and even a cause for encouragement but only if its agent does not shrink back. It is no different with the teachings of Jesus (Matt 7:21–23; 10:22; 13:3–23; 24:13) or Paul (1 Cor 10:1–13; 2 Cor 13:5; Gal 3:1–4; 4:11, 19; 5:2–4) or Peter (1 Pet 3:10–12; 2 Pet 1:3–11; 2:20–22)” (Laansma 2017: 262). “It is persevering faith that saves, not just a one-time decision...” (Schreiner 2015: 335).

about Hebrews 10:32–39, Schreiner (2015: 381) writes: “They must continue to believe until the end to receive final salvation.” Pink (1954: 642) says, “The constant exercise of faith by the saint is as essential to his final salvation as it was to his initial salvation.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Absolute Safety and Security for Sinning Christians?

“And dear God, please bless Tippy, and help him not to make any sins.” Thus did our three-year-old son, in his evening prayer, entreat for his puppy. It was a good prayer. “My dear children,” wrote the aged John, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.”

But Christians do sin. And the fact of our sin confronts us with three perils. First, we may deny that we sin. But this would be self-deception: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1John 1:8,

Second, we may fail to confess our sins and to find forgiveness and cleansing from Jesus, the Righteous One: “If we [keep confessing] our He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9,

Third, instead of confessing our sins, there is the peril of consenting to sin. Sin, we may tell ourselves, is an inevitable fact of human life and conduct, even for Christians. Therefore, it may be viewed as normal. Why be distressed about it? There is no occasion for concern. Many “Christians,” in this day of “easy believism,” have adopted such a casual attitude toward sin. But despite the rationalizations of many, there is occasion for real concern for sin. Sin is at war against the soul (1Peter 2:11), an all-out war of the deadliest sort.

Many sincere people believe that, while sin in the life of the Christian will mar his fellowship with Christ, it cannot affect his saving relationship with Christ in any They believe that the question of salvation is eternally and irrevocably determined in a single, once-for-all act of faith in Christ. Therefore, they can boldly

Through the present priestly advocacy of Christ in Heaven there is absolute safety and security for the Father’s child even while he is sinning.

Lewis Sperry Chafer, Major Bible 54

We don’t become saved by acting saved. Neither do we become unsaved by acting unsaved.

Charles Stanley, Eternal 71

Christians who persist in practicing fleshly living incur two losses. One in this life and the other is in the life to come. The temporal loss is that they will not live full, productive lives.... And even though Christians in this condition get into the kingdom [of God], they will not enjoy the inheritance of the kingdom. They will not be granted the authority God wants to give them in the kingdom that is to come.

Tony Evans, Returning to Your First

What if a person who is saved falls into sin, stays in sin, and is found in that very condition when he dies? Will he still go to heaven? The answer is yes. If he was truly saved in the first place, yes.

R.T. Kendall, Once Saved, Always

Apart from “we don’t become saved by acting saved,” we take exception to these statements. The New Testament writers do not contend “there is absolute safety and security for the Father’s child even while he is sinning,” or “acting like the unsaved.” Neither is the Christian who “stays in sin” or “persists in fleshly living” assured of entering into heaven/the Kingdom of God. We have already demonstrated how the New Testament writers repeatedly warn Christians about the dangers of living a sinful lifestyle (characteristic of unbelievers) that could potentially lead them to commit apostasy (become an unbeliever) and wind up sharing in the unbelievers’ final destiny—hell. We have looked at warnings from Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the writer of Hebrews. Now we want to consider what James, the brother of Jesus, has written concerning sin and its potential danger for his fellow Christian brothers and

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth [or “gives birth to,” death. Do not be my beloved brothers. (James 1:13–16)

Leslie Mitton (1966: 46) notes,

The main purpose of this section is to administer a sharp rebuke to those Christians who wish to find an excuse for their sinning, in order to free themselves from personal responsibility for it. They turn the blame on God, who, they say, is responsible for the evil things that overcome them. They say: “I am tempted by God.” ... In this way they try to make it possible for themselves to go on sinning without suffering the twinges of an uneasy conscience.... [James] wants primarily to get Christians to behave as better Christians, and so he meets this issue at an entirely practical level.

Throughout his letter, James confronts various sins that are presently surfacing in the Christian James rebukes those involved and calls for responses that are in keeping with faith in the Lord Jesus that expresses itself in love toward God and one Here, James takes away the believer’s excuse for sinning by blaming God as being the originator of the temptation to and places the blame squarely on their “own “Desire” here, in refers to any “fleshly, illicit that is “self-centered and contrary to God’s It is our own fleshly, self-centered desires that lure and entice us to Lure and entice are metaphors taken from hunting and and represent “different aspects of the same The hunter or fisherman “‘lures’ his prey from its [safe] retreat ... and ‘entices’ it ... by bait ... to his trap, hook, or In hunting and fishing, it is “an external force” leading to being ensnared, “but with sin it is an internal force”; we cause ourselves to be ensnared in sin “by producing the enticement and then willingly following

We should be careful to “separate temptation from sin in the sense that temptation does not have to result in sin. Temptation is not sin, and it becomes sin only when we yield to Thomas a Kempis wrote: “At first it [the temptation to sin] is a mere thought confronting the mind; then imagination paints it in stronger colors; only after that do we take pleasure in it, and the will makes a false move, and we give our

In verse 15, James changes to a childbearing illustration to describe “the havoc that if left unchecked, “can wreck in the spiritual Each person is tempted to sin when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. If one surrenders their will to the solicitations of “then desire and “gives birth to sin.” When sin reaches “maturity,” or “is fully grown,” it eventually “gives birth to death.” “The details of the illustration must not be pressed too far. The author’s intention is simply to trace the results of temptation when one yields to “[T]he general drift of the argument is clear: desire birth to sin; sin grows birth to

The kind of “death” James is talking about here is not to be construed as mere physical death. Physical death is not a contingency, but a certainty—for the godliest saint as well as for all others, in the present era. As Douglas Moo (2000: 250) states: “‘Death,’ here, as commonly in James [i.e., 1:15; 5:20] and almost always in the NT where sin is the issue, is ultimate ‘spiritual’ death—the condemnation to eternal damnation that results from unforgiven Other commentators see “eternal death,” or “the second death” (Revelation However, BDAG (443) rightly says that “spiritual “cannot always be clearly distinguished from” eternal death “since spiritual death merges into eternal Thus, some commentators include both meanings: “spiritual (eternal

Below is the progression of sin as expressed by James in 1:14–15.

desire lures/entices a temptation to sin

▾

desire (yielded to) conceives and gives birth to a sinful action

▾

sinful action (when persisted in) grows up

▾

sinful actions (persisted in) will ultimately give birth to (spiritual/eternal) death

Sin “grows up” only when it is persisted in. James is warning Christians about allowing sin “free to “rule” a person’s “whole which places them “under the bondage of When believers allow sin to become “a fixed in their lives, they are on the sure pathway to (becoming unbelievers), which results in spiritual/eternal death.

Another clear indication that James is not referring to “death here ... [as] merely physical death as the outcome of sinful is evidenced by how James contrasts the ways leading to life and death as seen in The true antithesis to eternal death is eternal life, and James views persevering in sin as leading to eternal death, while persevering in faith and loving God is leading to eternal life. James understands sin as being directly opposed to persevering in faith through various trials that test one’s faith and love for

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.... Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord [or “God,” has promised to those who love him [lit., “to the ones loving him” (James 1:2–4, 12,

The Greek words for the noun “perseverance” and the verb “persevere” are related to one another and have overlapping meanings. Hupomonē “is what the virtue [perseverance/endurance] is called by which the human being, unbroken by calamities, tortures, temptations, endures with courage in faith and To hupomenō is absolutely and emphatically, under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in The verb is in the present tense, which “portrays” the person as “characteristically enduring the various tests and refusing to give

“Loving” is a present-tense participial verb that “indicates ongoing Thus, it is believers’ “ongoing love of God in action” that “is the outcome of their faith in him which produces willing endurance for him

“The crown here is ... described as of This “life” is “eternal Therefore, persevering believers (and those loving God) will receive from God “‘the crown that consists in eternal God will metaphorically crown all Christians with “eternal life ... who have persevered in trusting and loving him in the face of This is not a promise of “a still higher quality of life” in this but of “eternal life to be experienced in the age to

The progression of faith as seen by James is as follows:

various trials test one’s faith in God

▾

continuing to place one’s faith in God produces perseverance

▾

perseverance (when it has finished its work) brings maturity/completeness

▾

perseverance (in faith) under trials results in receiving (eternal) life

Sin, persisted in, becomes mature and results in eternal death. Faith, persisted in, brings maturity and results in eternal James intentionally presented his readers with the contrasting results of persisting in sin or in faith that expresses itself in love for God as a way to motivate them toward Christian living that “is pure and undefiled before where “orphans and widows” are cared for in their “affliction” and believers “keep” themselves “unstained from the world” (1:27; cf. 4:4).

James concludes his teaching on the dangers of sin “with an affectionate warning to his not deceive yourselves my beloved brothers and The verb “deceive” is found in other New Testament “warnings against a denial of faith by moral lapses (1Corinthians 6:9; 15:33; Galatians 6:7; 1John Believers must resist allowing themselves to be deceived into thinking that God is to blame for the temptations to sin to which they yield, or that continuing in sin does not lead inevitably to a denial of faith in God and certain spiritual/eternal James understands that the downward trajectory of sin to death can be stopped along the way through “confession” of sin (James 5:16f.; cf. 1John 1:9), and by adopting a “humble” posture before God where we “submit” ourselves to His authority and will and we prayerfully “draw near” to Him to receive “grace” to “cleanse” our “hands” and to “purify” our “hearts” from our “passions” and “desires” that have run amok (see James 4:1–10). Furthermore, we are to “grieve, mourn, and weep” (4:9) over our love for the world that has made us in the eyes of God—His enemies (4:4). In other words, we are to repent of our sin, for repentance stops sin from becoming “full grown” in our

Lenski is on the mark when he writes: “When sin is born of the fleshly lust that is still lingering in the believer, the question still remains whether his faith, which is crushed down for the moment, will not again assert itself and rid itself of the deadly hold of sin by true repentance. ... Sin is brought to completion when repentance is Hiebert (1979: 95–96) agrees,

That sin, having been born, has its own life and development. Unless its life and growth are terminated by repentance, sin will have its sure development until it becomes “full grown” [T]he term suggests the thought of something having been effectively brought to its goal, brought to The rendering “full grown” views the sin as having reached its full maturity.... Matured sin ‘gives birth to death.’ ... [This is] spiritual death... and ultimately eternal death

Allow us to pause for a moment here to provide definition to a neglected and misunderstood biblical ChristopherD. Marshall has written a fine article on “Repentance” in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and which we found particularly helpful.

Repentance in the Bible and in Jewish and Christian theological traditions refers to the determination to change the direction of one’s life by turning away from spiritual rebellion or moral wrongdoing and turning toward God in renewed obedience and deeper devotion. It has an internal or subjective dimension (regret for past wrongs and a commitment to future change) and an external or behavioral dimension (a new pattern of conduct befitting the restored relationship with God). A demand for repentance may be addressed to individuals or to the faith community as a whole....

There is a rich vocabulary in the Bible for repentance and its components, and the concept of repentance may be present in texts even when the terminology is not Two key terms for repentance in the Old Testament are “to be sorry for something” or “relent from something,” which accents the affective dimension of regret, sorrow, or pity (e.g., Gen 6:6; Exod 32:14; Jer 8:6; Job 42:6), and “to turn” or “return,” which captures the effective dimension of a redirected life (e.g., 1 Kgs 8:33, 35; Ezek 3:19; Hos In the Septuagint, was almost exclusively translated by the Greek verb “change one’s mind,” while šûb was almost invariably translated with epistrephō or to “turn, turn back.” By the beginning of the Christian era, and metanoia had come to denote a fundamental change of mindset leading to a corresponding change of The metaphorical use of epistrephō had much the same force (cf. Acts 3:19;

Marshall notes that in Scripture repentance covers both “initial repentance,” associated with “conversion,” and “subsequent” repentance or “penitence” after Initial repentance “involved a fundamental reorientation of the person’s entire existence in response to God’s patience and kindness (Acts 17:30; Romans 2:4–5; 2Peter Subsequent repentance involves Christians who cease from sinning and recommit themselves to following God and the “norms of holiness (2Corinthians 7:9–10; 12:21; Galatians 6:1–2; 1John 1:8–9; cf. Luke 17:3–4)” He has established for His

We observed how James sees eternal life and eternal death are at stake for Christians engaged in the battle with sin. But so does Paul.

In Romans 6:14, Paul writes, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” Some consider Paul’s statement to imply that it is impossible for sin to become the master of one who is under grace. They understand Paul to mean that, just as Christ, having died and risen again, has forever been freed from any possibility of becoming subject again to the master of death (v.9), so the Christian who has entered by faith into the death of Christ for sin has been freed forever from the possibility of becoming subject again to the mastery of sin.

Their interpretation ignores two things. First, it ignores the nature of saving faith, which, as we have considered earlier, is not the act of a single moment whereby all the benefits of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection suddenly become the irrevocable possession of the individual, per se, despite any and all eventualities. It is, to the contrary, a present condition whereby the believer shares the eternal life of Him “who is our life” and who “is able to continue saving to the uttermost those who are ever drawing near to God through Him, seeing that He is ever living to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25 Montgomery).

Again, their interpretation ignores the immediate context. Far from asserting the impossibility of our submitting to the mastery of sin, Paul insists that we shall remain free of sin’s mastery only as we implement the deliverance that has been won for us by Christ: “be counting yourselves dead to sin.... do not let sin be reigning in your mortal body so that you are obeying its desires, nor be presenting your body-parts to sin as instruments of unrighteousness” (Romans 6:11–13, “Do you not know,” he asks, “that to whom you are presenting yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to whom you are obeying—whether slaves of sin leading-to death, or slaves of obedience leading-to righteousness?” (v.16,

There are two masters, and the believers at Rome must continue to choose between them. It is true that they previously had chosen to obey the Gospel, and in so choosing, they became no longer “slaves of sin,” but they were made free from sin and “become slaves of righteousness” (vv. 17, 18). But the choice was not irrevocable; the initial decision must continually be reaffirmed and implemented. “For just as you presented your body-parts as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading-to lawlessness, so now present your body-parts as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness” (v.19, Paul reminds them that the end of those things they had pursued when they were “slaves of sin” is “death”—eternal death (vv. 20, 21, whereas, “having been set-free from sin and enslaved to God, you are having your fruit leading-to holiness” with the final outcome being “eternal life!” (v.22, Let them therefore continue as slaves of righteousness and beware of yielding themselves as slaves to iniquity. For it is still true for the believers at Rome that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v.23, gift they can continue to share only as they remain faithful and obedient slaves of God who pursue righteous and holiness, rather than allowing sin to become their master once again. (Romans 6:23 is another verse that is a popular text for evangelistic sermons, and rightly so. But let us observe that the warning is addressed, not to non-Christians, but to the Christians themselves.)

Paul’s remedy for sin in the life of a Christian is the same as Mark Boda (2015: 173) notes,

Paul writes to the church in Corinth about an earlier instance when he confronted them over their sin and how this prompted a form of sorrow within them that is ‘according to the will of God’ because it produced ‘a repentance without regret, leading to salvation’ instead of a worldly sorrow that only ‘produces death’ (2Corinthians 7:9–10).... Later in 2Corinthians Paul returns to the penitential theme, concerned that he might mourn over ‘many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced’ (12:21). In 2Corinthians Paul reveals that repentance involves a moving of an inner affections (sorrow that produces repentance) as well as a change in behaviour (impurity, immorality and sensuality that they have practiced).

The structure of Paul’s verse in 2Corinthians 7:10 is

For

the sorrow

that is according to the will of God

produces repentance

leading to salvation

[which is] without regret.

But

the sorrow

that is <<>> of the world

produces

death

Paul is addressing Christians here and “says that their repentance leads to salvation.... We would think that those who were Christians would already have the assurance of salvation. But Paul’s worries about the Corinthians (see 5:20; 6:1, 14–7:1) are Indeed, Paul later expresses his fear that when he visits them again, he “may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced” (2 Corinthians

Paul, in a previous letter, warned the Christians in Corinth about the danger of living just like the unjustified (1Corinthians 6:1–11). He specifically says the sexually immoral are those identified as the unjustified (or unbelievers) who will be excluded from God’s Kingdom (6:9–10). Paul warns that if the justified go on acting like the unjustified, they will eventually become one of them and be barred from entering God’s Kingdom. What is at stake in chapter 12 for Christians who fail to repent of their sexual immorality is nothing less than their final salvation with God. Final salvation is also at stake in chapter 7 for the failure to repent. This is supported when Paul contrasts “worldly sorrow” which produces “death,” with “sorrow in accordance to God’s will,” which produces repentance leading to “salvation.”

This “worldly” sorrow is “characterized by the world’s outlook and attitudes, the sphere in which life is lived without God and in opposition to Unbelievers in the world do sometimes feel sorrow “over wrong-doing, but mostly because they have been found out or because they have inflicted loss upon This worldly sorrow can only result in “spiritual” or “eternal in contrast to God-directed sorrow, which produces repentance leading to “eternal” or “final Simply put, “one [kind of sorrow] leads to the other to

“Repentance implies remorse for sins that would and anger God and the desire to make amends and to desist from sinning The Corinthians have repented and showed fruits of their repentance, which has encouraged Paul (7:11–12). Clearly, “Sorrow ... that results in repentance is in accord with the divine will and has a place in the post-conversion experience of the Christians (cf. It is equally clear that if Christians in Corinth would have persisted in their sin, and not repented, they would have committed (become unbelievers) and forfeited final salvation with

Paul, and the rest of the New Testament writers, repeatedly warn Christians about the dangers of sin and the potential it has in subverting their faith and potentially leading to their apostasy and exclusion from God’s coming Kingdom. However, some once-saved-always-saved proponents argue that Christians who persist in unrepentant sin of any kind will still enter the Kingdom of God, but they will not “inherit” or experience all the privileges that the Kingdom offers. Such an understanding is completely contrary to the teaching of Scripture. This will be demonstrated by examining passages where Paul and John (in Revelation) warned Christians about practicing sin or living just like the unrepentant and unbelieving world.

We will begin with the sins unrepentant of by Christians in 2Corinthians 12, and then examine identical sins found elsewhere. Please note that we will underline the same sins that appear in these lists, and italicize the consequences for persisting in such One should take notice of the contrasting destiny of those who (by faith) pursue a life of holiness through the power of the Spirit.

I am afraid that when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the sexual and licentiousness that they have practiced. (2Corinthians 12:21,

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of Do not be deceived! The sexually adulterers, passive hom*osexual partners, practicing hom*osexuals, thieves, the the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of (1Corinthians 6:9–10,

For just as you presented your body-parts as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading-to lawlessness, so now present your body-parts as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free to righteousness. So what fruit were you having at that time? Things over which you are now ashamed! For the outcome of those things is [eternal] But now having been set-free from sin and enslaved to God, you are having your fruit leading-to holiness. And the outcome is eternal life! For the wages of sin is [eternal] but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:19b–23,

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live [eternally]. (Romans 8:12–13,

But I say, make it a habit to walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not fulfill what the flesh desires. ... And the works born of the flesh are clearly evident: sexual shameless debauchery, drug-induced spells displays of enmity, strife, fanaticism, angry outbursts, self-promoting acts, dissensions, factions, acts born of envy, drunken bouts [“drunkenness,” gluttonous parties, and others things like these. Concerning these things I tell you in advance, just as I warned you before: Those who keep on practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of (Galatians 5:16,

Don’t deceive yourselves: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows, that shall he or she reap, because the one who keeps on sowing to the his or her flesh will harvest [or “reap,” [eternal] destruction from the but the one who keeps on sowing to the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. (Galatians

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:3–11)

Keep on being faithful till and I will give you the crown of [eternal] life. Let the one having an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The one overcoming [i.e., “remaining faithful to the Lord in the face of moral and doctrinal compromise, even at the cost of will never be harmed by the second [eternal] death. (Revelation 2:10b–11)

The person [overcoming] will inherit these things [i.e., the new heaven and new earth, the Holy City, the New Jerusalem where God dwells among His people and where there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain]. I will be his God, and he will be my son. But people who are cowardly, sexually and all liars will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second (Revelation

And every unclean thing and one who [is practicing] detestable things and falsehood [or will never enter [eiserchomai] into it [the Holy except those who are written in the book of life of the Lamb. (Revelation

Blessed are those [washing] their robes so they can have access to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates. Outside [the Holy City] are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually and the and the idolaters and everyone [loving] and [practicing] falsehood [or (Revelation

The final destinies ascribed to each group of people as collected from the above Scriptures is as follows:

Those...

presenting their body in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness

putting to death the sinful deeds of the body through the power of the Spirit

who make it a habit to walk by the Spirit

sowing to the Spirit through the power of the Spirit

overcoming (remaining faithful to Jesus against moral/doctrinal compromise)

washing their robes (i.e., living a holy life through faith and

will...

not fulfill the sinful desires of the flesh

receive eternal life

inherit or enter God’s Kingdom (the Holy City)

forever dwell with a holy God, His holy people, in His Holy City

never experience eternal death in the lake of fire

Those...

presenting their body in slavery to sin and impurity leading to lawlessness

living and sowing according to the sinful flesh

loving and practicing sinful deeds

participating in the same sinful deeds as the unrighteous/sons of disobedience

receive eternal death/destruction

never inherit or enter God’s Kingdom (the Holy City)

never dwell with a holy God, His holy people, in His Holy City

experience God’s wrath and eternal death in the lake of fire

Notice the verbs that convey two ways of life that, if persisted lead to two different destinies—eternal life or eternal death, entering God’s Kingdom or being forever shut out from it. Pursuing a holy life through the power of the Spirit is not optional for experiencing eternal life in the Kingdom of God. John’s interesting reference to “washing their robes” is an important metaphor in this regard. “Here, washing is a metaphor for the removal of sin that occurs through repentance and faith in the redemptive action of Christ (Revelation Of significance is the Greek verb for “washing,” which is “in the active voice and present indicating ongoing repentance and Therefore, this washing involves “living a holy life which is morally and spiritually renewed (21:5–8; 22:11–13; cf. 16:15; also John through ongoing faith and repentance. Washing one’s robes (through repentance and faith) provides further definition to what it means to be “overcoming” (remaining faithful to Jesus against moral and doctrinal This is especially seen in the contrast between the majority of Christians in Sardis who have “soiled their garments” and need to “repent” before Christ will come against them in judgment (3:3–4), and the ones “overcoming” in Sardis who “will walk with” Jesus “in white” garments in God’s Holy City

Those “washing their robes” also stand in stark contrast to unbelievers who, in the face of God’s judgments, “did not repent of the works of their hands by giving up their worship of demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, or wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk,” and “did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immoralities, or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20–21, Cf. 16:9, 11). It is these very sins, unrepentant of, that prevent unbelievers from entering God’s Holy City and lead to eternal separation from God in hell (21:8, 27;

It is not surprising then, to find Jesus commanding Christians in most of the seven churches to repent of their sin (Revelation 2:5 [twice], 16, 22; 3:3, 19; cf. 2:21 Why the stress on repentance for believers? Because John, throughout the book of Revelation, “seeks to motivate his hearers to overcome. Every part of the book is designed to transform his hearers into overcomers. For some of his hearers this exhortation to overcome reinforces and strengthens their present convictions and conduct while for other hearers the exhortation to overcome calls for a dramatic change in their beliefs and “This ‘overcoming’ serves to describe a range of responses John is trying to elicit which include repentance, worship [of God alone], [faithful] witness, perseverance, and This overcoming requires believers to exhibit “faithfulness to Jesus unto death” if they expect to “be saved with God’s people in the final day of salvation and Therefore, believers who want to be recognized as overcomers in the eyes of God must not persist in the same unrepentant sins of unbelievers lest they eventually become an unbeliever and share in their same final destiny—consigned to hell and forever shut out of God’s Holy City (Revelation 21:8, 27; 22:15).

Repentance and faith are needed not only to become a Christian, but to remain a Christian. Paul, James, and John would all agree that “appropriate repentance throughout our Christian life is the path to our ultimate

Despite the claims of once-saved-always-saved adherents, Christians cannot persist in fleshly living, nor stay in unrepentant sin, nor continue acting like the unsaved, and be guaranteed heaven as their eternal home. Apostasy is a real danger for Christians who are engaging in habitual and unrepentant sin. However,

Those who teach a doctrine of unconditional eternal security sometimes object to the possibility of apostasy by holding that a regenerated person would never wish to return to a life of sin and to become an apostate. This fact is of course altogether true. The answer to the objection lies in the fact that believers can grow cold little by little, and ultimately find themselves with but little desire to return to Christ in penitence and renewed obedience. The steps in apostasy undoubtedly are somewhat as follows: first of all, the individual becomes too busy or unconcerned to maintain a faithful devotional life of Bible meditation and prayer. This results in a certain state of lukewarmness in which it becomes easy to harbor, if only briefly, a sinful desire or attitude. This attitude may be one of envy, pride, hatred, sensuality, or avarice. The unsanctified state of attempting to cling to a “minor sin” for a time in turn promotes the very neglect of Bible reading and prayer which brought about the state of lukewarmness to begin with. As the individual becomes more and more cold spiritually his zeal for the Lord’s cause slackens. After a time overt acts of sin begin to occur in his life. These falls into sin are accompanied by a decreasing concern about sin and its guilt. There comes also a determination, and this is something new, to continue enjoying sin for the time being; the first intention was merely to indulge briefly. There is less and less interest in returning to a holy Christian life as time goes on and the apostasy becomes more severe. All this takes place in spite of fierce inner struggles of conscience, repeated chastisem*nts of God, and generally the warnings of other Christians.

We are again reminded of Jeremy Taylor’s (1613–67) description of the downward progress of the [Christian who becomes] apostate: “First it [sin] startles him, then it becomes pleasing, then delightful, then frequent, then habitual, then confirmed; then the man is impenitent, then obstinate, then resolved never to repent, then damned” ([Quoted in] Strong, Systematic

Taylor is not only describing New Testament theology on the dangers of allowing sin to go unchecked by repentance, but Old Testament theology:

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? says the Lord “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20–24,

“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23

Shank translated the present-active subjunctive for “confess” in this way. Both Lenski (1966: 392) and Robertson 6:208) do the same. “The author projects a situation in which people acknowledge their sins in an ongoing way. He portrays authentic Christian living as involving honest and ongoing acknowledgement of one’s sins” (Kruse 2000: 68). “We must honestly confront and frankly confess our sins we are guilty of without defending ourselves or excusing our sinful deeds.... The present tense underlines that such confession is to be our standing practice whenever sins do occur” (Hiebert 1991: 66).

are following the New American Standard Bible in the second half of this verse.

popular teaching today from those in the “Hyper-Grace” camp, which is parallel to the Moderate Calvinist/Free Grace position, is that in the moment of conversion, all the individual’s sins—past, present, and future—are forever remitted. Therefore, after one moment of faith, it is never necessary for a Christian to repent of or confess one’s sins to God to receive forgiveness. Michael Brown, in his book Hyper-Grace: Exposing the Dangers of the Modern Grace provides numerous quotes from those holding this view and convincingly refutes this position from Scripture in chapters 4–6. We are grateful for Brown exposing it in a charitable and biblical manner.

have italicized each of the quotes that follow.

quote comes at the conclusion of Evans expounding on Galatians 5:19–21 (see pages 75–84). According to Evans, the “fleshly living” that Christians can “persist in practicing” and still “get into the kingdom” of God entails: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19–21). Evans says there is an important distinction between inheriting the kingdom and entering the kingdom of God (see 82f.). Such a distinction, as we will see later in this chapter, cannot be supported from Scripture.

Pink asks,

What then are the consequences of a believer’s sinning? And particularly what are the penalties involved by conscious, deliberate, repeated, unconfessed sins; on the part of a child of God? First, we shall consider the negative answer:

1.He does not cease to be God’s child.

2.He does not forfeit eternal life.

3.He does not lose the Holy Spirit.

4.He does not become unfit for heaven.

5.He does not eternally perish.

Positive side:

1.His communion with God is broken.

2.His joy of salvation is lost.

3.His power for service is destroyed.

4.His witness for Christ is nullified.

5.His position in glory is affected.

6.His conduct will bring chastisem*nt from the Lord.

7.His physical life is endangered.

This quote was from J. L. Stauffer in his tract: The Eternal Security 1933: 16–17. He noted:

I have quoted from the older edition of the pamphlet by Pink called “Sins of the Saints.” It had been circulated for over ten years as above outlined, but the statement concerning the consequences of deliberate, repeated, unconfessed sins was too rank for many people and the pamphlet was revised and reprinted, this statement being left out, but no note concerning the revision was ever placed in the new edition.... Later writings of Pink, however, prove that the way the tract appeared before its last revision, is the way Pink believes, and this is in harmony with the eternal security teaching in general according to their literature and addresses (Stauffer 1933: 16–17).

To be fair to Pink, we have not looked thoroughly into his later writings to be able to confidently confirm or deny Stauffer’s conclusion. However, what Pink has written above would be fully embraced by those in the Moderate Calvinist camp today.

James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings! My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials” (James 1:1–2,

issues a command in the third person (‘No one’).... No exceptions are allowed, for even one exception would impugn the character of God. Since there’s nothing in his character that would make him succumb to temptation, there’s nothing in his character that would make him want anybody else to succumb to temptation” (Gundry 2010: 921). “The present imperative with the negative implies that some individuals were suggesting this, but all such claims must be terminated. Whether made directly or indirectly, James sharply rebukes anyone harboring such an excuse for his [own] failure” (Heibert 1979: 90).

translations have “evil desire” or “lust”

not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters” “Don’t you be letting yourselves be led astray, my beloved brothers” (Gundry 2010: 921).

(2020: 76) notes: “anger (1:19–20), not bridling the tongue (1:26; 3:5–12), favoritism to the rich and depreciation of the poor (2:1–6, 9; 4:11; 5:1–4), envy, selfish ambition, coveting, fraud (3:14, 16; 4:2; 5:4), friendship with the world (4:4), false boasting (4:16), and swearing oaths (5:12).” We would add “wandering from the truth” (5:19–20).

writes: “My brothers, have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ without showing favoritism” (2:1, “But you dishonored the poor!” (2:6a, “However, if you really fulfill the royal law according to Scripture: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show favoritism, you are committing a sin” (2:8–9a,

is the inner solicitation to evil” (Heibert 1979: 89).

James says nothing about the part that the devil may have in temptation. He was well aware of Satan’s vicious activities, for he said, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (4:7; cf. also 3:6). James is emphasizing man’s personal responsibility for sinning by refuting the effort to place the blame on God” (Hiebert 1979: 94; cf. Moo 2000: 75). “James is giving the same message that Jesus gave when he identified our inner being as the source of sin: “It is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person (Mark 7:20–23)” (Cheung & Spurgeon 2018: 31).

the New Testament epithymia generally carries a negative meaning, such as ‘lust,’ ‘selfish ambition,’ or ‘evil desire’” (Nystrom 1997: 73).

2000: 74.

1979: 93. Cf. Osborne 2011: 33; Moo 2000: 74. Later [in 4:1], James will use the word pleasure, illicit desire for pleasure) in parallel with the verbal form ... to refer to these desires” (McCartney 2009: 106).

... means by ‘sin’ some act or thought in which a person is knowingly disobedient to the perfect will of God” (Mitton 1966: 49).

Ropes 1916: 156; Lenski 1937: 542; Witherington 2007: 434; Blomberg & Kamell 2008: 71–72; Nystrom 1997: 74.

1916: 156–157. So Nystrom 1997: 74; Hiebert 1979: 93.

1916: 156. Cf. Lenski 1937: 542.

2011: 33. “So man’s desires become the agents of evil to trick him to his downfall ... enticing him into evil by making it appear pleasing and harmless” (Mitton 1966: 48). James is here “warning of the danger of allowing the deadly chain of events to start” through yielding to “the desire to do evil” (McCartney 2009: 106).

2011: 34.

quoted by LABC 1992: 26.

2000: 75.

1910: 55. Cf. Hiebert 1979: 94. “James does not tell us how it is that desire might conceive and give birth. But he undoubtedly has in mind the active response of a person who is tempted” (Moo 2000:75–76). When a person welcomes temptation rather than resists it, this is when desire has the opportunity to conceive and bring forth sin (Moo 2000: 76).

‘then’ ... consistently denotes sequence, showing that here we learn about the next step as the temptations within us start to drag us away. Having been enticed by our inner craving, the desire leads to sinful action” (Blomberg & Kamell 2008: 72. So Hiebert 1979: 94).

1981: 172. Hiebert (1979: 95) follows Burdick. “When we yield to temptation, our sin sets deadly events into motion” (LABC 1992: 27).

2011: 122.

Adamson 1976: 73; Burdick 1981: 172; Blomberg & Kamell 2008: 72; Lenski 1937: 543; Osborne 2011: 34; Serrão 2011: 63; Stamps 1992: 1976; Weidner 1897: 32; Whedon 1880: 161; Wolff 1969: 27.

1872: 755; Barnes 1875: 31; Gundry 2010: 921; Huther 1882: 69; Kretzmann 1922: 500; Oropeza 2012b: 82; Scaer 1994: 57; Spencer 2020: 80.

443 cites John 5:24; 8:51; Rom. 7:10, 13; 8:6; 2Corinthians 3:7; James 1:15; 5:20 for “spiritual death.” So Abbott-Smith 202; F&M 194; Robinson 329; cf. Strong’s 2086; Bloomfield 175; Mounce’s 161; Thayer 283.

1989: 341. Weidner 1897: 32 “[Sin] brings spiritual, bodily, and eternal death.” Cf. Hiebert 1979: 96; Whedon 1880: 161; Binney & Steele 1879: 628; Wolff 1969: 27.

& Kamell 2008: 72.

1882: 69. “As ... evil deeds take over a person’s life, they ‘grow’ in power and produce the child, spiritual ‘death’” (Osborne 2011: 34).

1969: 27. So Alford 1872: 755.

1910: 55. So Adamson 1976: 73; Wolff 1969: 27; LABC 1992: 27

James refers to sin that leads to death (1:14–15), he has apostasy in mind”

(Oropeza 2012b: 80).

2012b: 81. Zane Hodges writes: “[I]t is plain that even a born-again Christian can flirt with premature physical death by indulging in his sinful lust” (2010: 1106).

also sets before his audience the way of life and death in relation to apostasy [in] (Jas. 5:19–20; cf. 1:15/Sir 15:17)” (Oropeza 2012b: 80).

are necessary to develop the desired moral maturity and strength” that God is looking for in His people (Heibert 1979: 91).

1:2 ‘trials’ is in the plural, referring to external unavoidable events that happen to one, such as persecution for the faith” (Spencer 2020: 73).

footnote here reads: “Most mss([C] P 0246 5 436 442 read ὁ “the Lord”) here, while others have ὁ “God”; 4 945 1175 1243 1735 1739 1852 However, several significant and early witnesses B Ψ81 2344 co) have no explicit subject. In light of the scribal tendency toward clarification, and the fact that both κύριος and θεός are well represented, there can be little doubt that the original text had no explicit subject. The referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity, not because of textual basis.”

Zorrell’s definition in Novi Testamenti Lexicon Graecum (Paris: Lethielleux, 1911: 591), as quoted by Bovon 2012: 113, fn. 63, emphasis added. Thayer 644, “in the N.T. the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.”

644. Thayer gives this definition of hupomenō under 2 a, with the following citations: Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13; 2 Timothy 2:12; James 5:11. Unfortunately, Thayer places James 1:12 under definition 2 endure, bear bravely and calmly: absolutely ill-treatment.” However, the contextual meaning of perseverance in James 1:12 definitely includes both holding fast to one’s faith in Christ while bravely bearing ill-treatment. This is supported by James 1:2–4, which connects trials with testing one’s which produces

1979: 83.

& Kamell 2008: 70, fn. 16.

1979: 85.

1980: 68. The genitive phrase is referred to as “a genitive of definition” “‘the crown that consists in life eternal’” (Mayer 1913: 49; Weidner 1897: 30). Also called “an epexegetical genitive (‘the crown that consists of life’)” (McKnight 2011: 111, fn. 219; i.e., “eternal life,” p. 112); or an “appositional” genitive (or genitive of apposition) “‘the crown which is life’” (Blomberg & Kamell 2008: 69, i.e., “eternal life”).

320; Bloomfield 171; Hemer, NIDNTT 1:406; Mounce’s 148–149; CBL-GED 13:36; Davids, EDT 288; Rea, WBD 407; cf. BDAG 430–431; Thayer 273–274; Abbott-Smith 196–197.

2009: 90. So Hiebert 1979: 83. Other scholars note “the crown of life” = “eternal life”: Adamson 1976: 68; Alford 1872: 754; Benson 1856: 581; Binney & Steele 1879: 628; Davids 1982: 80; Gundry 2010: 920; P. Harrison 1992: 20; Howard 1986: 83; LABC 1992: 21; Mayor 1910: 49; Moo 1985: 70–71; Nystrom 1997: 72; Osborne 2011: 32; Ropes 1916: 152; Scaer 1994: 53; Spencer 2020: 74; Wolff 1969: 21; Wintle 2020: 36; Witherington 2007: 433; Muller, “Rewards” in DLNTD 1039; Baker, “Endurance” in DLNTD 327.

Muller, 1039.

1981: 171. So Vaughn 1969: 28; Hodges 2010: 1104.

1986: 83. So Nystrom 1997: 72 and Laws 1980: 68. This is confirmed by comparing the promise of James 1:12 to 2:5, “Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not?” The one who perseveres by faith under trial will receive the crown that consists in eternal life “promised to those who keep on loving him” (1:12b, The poor who are “rich in faith” are “heirs of the kingdom.” This means that they will, as heirs, inherit the Kingdom of God as “promised to those who keep on loving him” (2:5b, Cf. with Revelation 21:7 where “the one overcoming [i.e., Christians who remain faithful to Jesus until death] will inherit these things” [i.e., they will dwell with God in the new heavens and new earth where pain, mourning, and death are no more, see 21:1–6]. Cf. also Matthew 25:34–46, where Jesus says the “righteous” (v. 37, 46) will “inherit the kingdom” and enter “into eternal life.”

are left with the choice of following the path that leads to eternal life through a persevering faith (loving God), or the path that leads to eternal death by persisting in sin “that leads to apostasy and destruction (1:13–15). Later on, it will turn out that one’s confession of sin provides forgiveness, and restoration is possible (5:15–20), but here James colors his language with graphic metaphors of sin’s inevitable outcome in an attempt to dissuade his audience from succumbing to temptation” (Oropeza 2012b: 82).

would add that “righteousness” should characterize the Christian community’s life of faith (see 1:20; 2:23–25; 3:18), and this would include turning away from sin that is relationally destructive to the individual and to the community of faith (1:14–15, 21, 26–27; 2:1–9; 3:9–10, 14–16; 4:1–10; 11–12; 13–17; 5:1–6, 9, 12, 16).

Spencer 2020: 81; Blomberg & Kamell 2008: 73. We agree with Hiebert (1979: 96), who writes: “The warning may be connected with what immediately precedes (vv. 13–15) or with what follows (vv. 17–18). If the former, the warning is to not be deceived about the source and consequences of sin. If the latter, it is a call to beware of casting suspicion on God and His beneficent activities. The verse has a transitional function and, like a bridge, provides connection in both directions, but what has gone before seems primarily in view.”

beloved brothers and sisters” occurs three times in the letter (1:16, 19; 2:5), each of those times intensifying James’s expression of love for his fellow Christians” (Spencer 2020: 81). By calling his brothers and sisters “beloved” James seeks to “soften the blow” of this warning (Blomberg & Kamell 2008: 73), and “tries to encourage his readers toward a positive decision” (Spencer 2020: 81). A positive decision would be to stop blaming God for their yielding to the temptation of sin; and to start taking personal responsibility for yielding to sin via the temptations that arise from their own evil

by Spencer 2020: 52. Deceive can be in the passive voice (“Do not be deceived”) or middle voice (“Do not deceive yourselves”). We agree with Spencer (2020: 81), who says: “Since the earlier verse (1:13–15) concern an internal human desire, the middle voice (‘deceive yourself’) seems more applicable. In contrast, in 5:19–20 the passive voice is used, indicating that there James refers to someone ‘led astray’ by someone else from the path of truth to a false path.” We would add that the middle voice is more likely since James also suggests that self-deception is going on within some believers who are placing the blame on God for their yielding to sin in saying, “I am being tempted by God.” Blomberg and Kamell (2008: 73) think “deceive” is “more likely” in the middle voice.

1988: 37. To allow oneself to be deceived or “be led astray means to be led into apostasy” (Gundry 2010: 921).

is the result of continued sin come to fruition (1:15),” and results in “Eternal death” (Spencer 2020: 89, emphasis added).

rebuke of James to his readers, “You adulteresses” (4:4a, for their friendship with the world harkens back to the Old Testament prophets who

frequently compare the relationship between Yahweh and his people to a marriage relationship.... [T]he Lord is consistently portrayed as the husband and Israel as the wife in this imagery. Accordingly, therefore, when Israel’s relationship with the Lord is threatened by her idolatry, she can be accused of committing adultery; see Jer. 3:20: “‘But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,’ declares the (see also Isaiah 57:3; Exek. 16:38; 23:45).... James, following this tradition, uses “adulteresses” to label his readers as unfaithful people of God. By seeking friendship with the world, they are in effect, committing spiritual adultery (Moo 2000: 187).

It was “their tendency to imitate the world by discriminating against people (2:1–13), by speaking negatively of others (3:1–12), by exhibiting ‘bitter envy’ and ‘selfish ambition’ (3:13–18), and by pursing their own destructive pleasures (4:1–3)” which characterized their friendship with the world (Moo 2000: 187). Jensen (2012: 107) rightly notes that “James describes love of the world as apostasy.”

rightly recognize that James’s message, in 4:7–10, is a “call for a radical repentance that embraces the total person” (Moo 2000: 194). See Nystrom 1997: 228–230; Davids 1983: 102–104; Spencer 2020: 227–229; Osborne 2011: 89–92; Boda 2015: 176–177; McKnight 2011: 344–358.

1937: 543. So Kretzmann 1922: 500.

persisted in, reaches full maturity, or is brought to completion and is “the dark mirror image” of “let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete” (1:4a, (Nystrom 1997: 74).

sin, unless ... I properly repent before my physical death, will, ‘being full grown,’ cause my damnation and my spiritual ‘death’ at the Day of (Adamson 1976: 73). Even Zane Hodges says “immediate repentance from sin ... can cut the sin off before it is full-grown and thus save the sinning one from (2010: 1106). As noted earlier, Hodges misinterprets “death” here as “a premature physical death.”

the concept of repentance has already come up in James, and will surface later in this chapter, we thought it was fitting to provide a summary of what biblical repentance is as supported from a variety of reference works. We agree with John Murray (1955: 113), who states, “Saving faith is permeated with repentance and repentance is permeated with faith.”

already noted that the concept of repentance is clearly expressed in James 4:7–10 even though the word “repentance” is not used.

810 writes

One of these nuances [of is “repent,” and it is used exclusively of human beings expressing sorrow for sin, as in 1Ki. 8:47. Other texts contain the divine command to repent of one’s sin (cf. Eze. 14:6; 18:30). Related to the idea of expressing sorrow for wickedness is the idea of “turning away” from it. Such an action is predicated of Israel (1Ki. 8:35; 2Ch. 6:26; 7:14; Isaiah 59:20; Dan. 9:13); of foreign nations (Jer. 18:8); and of human beings in general (Eze. 18:20; 33:9 ff.).

810: is a verb occurring around thirty-five times [in the NT], meaning ‘repent’ and referring exclusively to “turning from one’s sin.’” Robinson 458: “In a religious sense, implying sorrow for unbelief and sin, and the turning from them unto God and the gospel of Christ” Strong’s 2114; Bloomfield 265). Cf. Abbott-Smith 288, metanoeō refers to “repentance from sin.”

Goetzmann says, “the predominantly intellectual understanding of metanoia as change of mind plays very little part in the NT. Rather the decision by the whole man to turn round is stressed. It is clear that we are concerned neither with a purely outward turning nor with a merely intellectual change of ideas” 1:358).

810: is a noun derived from [the verb] metanoeō found in approximately twenty-five contexts, referring exclusively to renouncing and turning from one’s sin (with one possible exception [i.e., Hebrews 12:21]).” Cf. Abbott-Smith 288; Bloomfield 265; Robinson 458–459; Strong’s 2114. “Both noun and verb denote a radical, moral turn of the whole person from sin and to God” (Mounce’s 580). L&N: 510 means] to change one’s way of life as a result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness.” L&N go to write: “Though in English a focal component of repent is the sorrow of the contrition that a person experiences because of sin, the emphasis in and seems to be more specifically the total change, both in thought and behavior, with respect to how one should both think and act.”

2:230–231. Two passages, where we find metanoeō being used should be noted: “Repent therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Paul told King Agrippa that he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and after this encounter he “declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:20). J. Goetzmann writes, “In Acts 3:19 and 26:20 metanoeō and epistrephō are placed side by side. This shows that the two concepts are related. In these cases metanoeō describes rather the turning from evil and epistrephō the turning to God” 1:359).

2:232, 233.

2:232.

2:232–233. Bloomfield (265) says repentance in its “second stage” involves

an entire change of mind and heart, both as to the sins repented of and forsaken, and all sin, as is produced by the motives to holiness propounded in the Gospel of Christ, and wrought in us by the Spirit of God working with our wills; such, in short, as springs from a filial love rather than a slavish from an anxious desire to please God, and to be ‘holy as he is holy;’ thus carrying with it a hatred of the sins abandoned, as being odious in the sight of Him who is ‘of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.’

Barnett 1997: 376, but with the translation by the

1999: 356.

Garland 1999: 356.

2016: 235.

1987: 350.

1865: 286; Barnett 1997: 377; Barnes 1854: 169; Benson 1856: 240; Binney & Steele 1879: 489; Coffman 1984: 7:396; Garland 1999: 356, fn. 1029; Meyer 1884: 569; Picirilli 1987: 350; Stamps 1992: 1822; Stegman 2009: 181; Whedon 1876: 175. Cf. Garlington 2016: 236 “eschatological ‘death’].” Beet 1882: 993: in its fullest sense, i.e. of body and soul in Gehenna.”

443 cites Romans 1:32; 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5; 2Corinthians 2:16; 7:10; 2 Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 2:14b; 1 John 5:16f.; Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14b; 21:8 for “eternal death.” So Abbott-Smith 202; Robinson 329; cf. Strong’s 2086; Bloomfield 175; Thayer 283. Others rightly note that thanatos entails “eternal separation from God” (Mounce’s 161; Renn 245; Strong’s 2086); and “exclusion” or “rejection from the kingdom of God” (Bloomfield 175; Mounce’s 161; Strong’s 2086; Robinson 329). This is supported by Revelation 21:8, where those who experience “the second death” in “the lake of fire” are unbelievers who will never enter the Holy City where God dwells with His holy people (see Revelation 21:27; 22:14–15. Cf. Matthew 25:34, 41, 46; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–6).

1856: 240; Oropeza 2012a: 129; Shillington 1998: 163. Cf. Garlington 2016: 235 “eschatological salvation.” Meyer 1884: 569 “Messianic salvation.” Schenck 2006: 299 “ultimate salvation.”

2161: “In the Christian’s sense, sōtēria is deliverance from sin and its spiritual consequences and admission to eternal life with blessedness in the kingdom of Christ (Lk 1:77; 19:9; Jn 4:22; Ac 4:12; 13:26; 16:17; Ro 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 13:11; 2Co 1:6; 7:10; Eph 1:13; Php 1:28; 2:12; 1Th 5:8, 9; 2Th 2:13; 2Tim 2:10; 3:15; Heb 1:14; 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9; 9:28; 1Pe 1:5, 9, 10; Jude 3)” (cf. Robinson 706; Bloomfield 430). BDAG 986: with focus on transcendent aspects.... This salvation makes itself known and felt in the present, but it will be completely disclosed in the future.” Abbott-Smith 437–438: “In NT especially of Messianic and spiritual salvation” Thayer 612).

1837: 2:346.

1999: 356.

2005: 538.

Witherington 1995: 410.

Shillington 1998: 164; Garland 1999: 355; Garlington 2016: 234.

of the Greek words that appear in these lists are identical in the Greek, or they come from the same Greek word family and have the same meaning in these contexts. Four times we find two different Greek words which are synonymous in meaning in their respective contexts. (1) prassō “practiced,” 2Corinthians 12:21; “practicing,” Galatians 5:21; compare with poieō “practicing,” Revelation 21:27; 22:15. (2) Both “die” apothnēskō (Romans 8:13), and thanatos (Romans 6:21, 23; Revelation 21:8) refer to “eternal death,” and thus we will use “die [eternally]” and “[eternal] death” in these passages. (3) will not “inherit” the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; Galatians 5:21; Revelation 21:8); compare with has no “inheritance” in the Kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5). (4) Both “will live” zaō (Romans 8:12) and receiving the crown zōē (Revelation 2:10) refer to “eternal life,” and thus we will use “live [eternally]” and “[eternal] life” in these passages. Here is the breakdown of Greek words with their English translation.

•“impurity” (2Corinthians 12:21; Ephesians 5:3).

•“sexual immorality” (2Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3). Compare with p*rnos (“sexually immoral,” 1 Corinthians 6:9; Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 21:8; 22:15) of the same word family.

•“licentiousness” (2Corinthians 12:21); “impurity” (Romans 6:19b; Galatians 5:19).

•“idolater” (Ephesians 5:5); “idolaters” (Revelation 21:8; 22:15). Compare with eidōlolatria (“idolatry,” Galatians 5:20) of the same word family.

•“drunkenness” (Galatians 5:21). Compare with methē (“drunkards,” 1 Corinthians 6:10) of the same word family.

•“sorcery” (Gal. 5:20). Compare with pharmakos (“sorcerers,” Revelation 21:8; 22:15) of the same word family.

•“greedy” (1 Corinthians 6:10); “covetous” (Ephesians 5:5).

•“detestable” (Revelation 21:8). Compare with bdelugma (“detestable,” Revelation 21:27) of the same word family.

•“liars” (Revelation 21:8). Compare with pseudos (“falsehood” or “lying,” Revelation 21:27; 22:15) of the same word family.

•“murderers” (Revelation 21:8; 22:15).

by deSilva 2018: 444.

by deSilva 2018: 478.

translation by Lenski 1935: 100 here, and then

2010: 166. Thayer (426) says the one overcoming refers to “Christians that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and their temptations and persecutions.”

a double negative in Greek here. To bring it out we provide “never ever.”

unfaithful is the opposite of the person overcoming (the person who keeps on being faithful to Jesus in the face of moral and doctrinal compromise, Revelation 2:10–11).

ISV except for “overcomes” has been changed to a more literal rendering of the Greek present tense verb here—“overcoming”

a double negative in Greek here. To bring it out we provide “never ever.”

LEB except for “practices” has been changed to a more literal rendering of the Greek present tense verb here: “practicing”

NET except for “wash their robes” and “loves and practices falsehood” has been changed to a more literal rendering of the Greek present tense verbs here: “washing,” “loving and practicing”

our discussion below on “washing their robes.” Since Christians “washing their robes” (i.e., those living a holy life through repentance and faith) enter the Holy City (Revelation 22:14), then this “washing” should be viewed as synonymous to Christians “overcoming” (i.e., remaining faithful to Jesus in the face of moral and doctrinal compromise) who will inherit or enter the Holy City (Revelation 21:1–7).

2014: 842.

commentators note that “washing” is a present tense verb which “speaks of an ongoing activity that characterizes their lives” (Osborne 2002: 789). So Sweet 1979: 316; Aune 1997: 3:1120; Ladd 1972: 293; R. Mounce 1997: 407; Smalley 2005: 573; Thomas & Macchia 2016: 396–397).

2014: 842.

2005: 573. Others note this “washing” refers to Christians “who live a righteous life” (Witherington 2003: 282); “ridding their lives of the accumulated filth of this world and living pure lives before God” (Osborne 2002: 789).

into and enjoyment of the holy city is contingent upon the continual washing of one’s robes, the purifying of one’s life, in the blood of the Lamb” (Thomas & Macchia 2016: 397).

the absence of staining [ones garments] implies ethical purity on the part of the minority in Sardis: members of the church who have not aligned themselves with the prevailing standards belonging to pagan society” (Smalley 2005: 84). Those Christians in Sardis who “behave wrongly” can “fall away from the true faith” if they do not repent (Smalley 2005: 83). We should add that Christians is Laodicea are commanded to “repent” and receive “white garments” from Christ (Revelation 3:18–19).

“warning” in Revelation 22:15 is “aimed especially at Christians” (Roloff 1993: 251). They must “maintain” “their present moral behavior” “to the end” (Krodel 1989: 374) by ongoing faith and repentance (“washing their robes”) because “it is also possible” for Christians “to fall from the salvation received” through Christ’s redemptive work by practicing “pagan vices and pagan idolatry and forsake undivided obedience to the will of Jesus” (Roloff 1993: 251).

Revelation 2:20–21, a woman prophetess named Jezebel has been “teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.” Jezebel is not a true prophet, but a false prophet and hence, an unbeliever. She needs to repent, or else she will share the same fate as other unbelievers who have not repented of their idolatry and immoralities (Revelation 9:20–21; 16:9, 11; cf. 21:8; 22:15).

and sexual immorality are specifically mentioned as sins needing to be repented of in the churches of Pergamum and Thyatira. Jesus did not command the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia to repent because they were remaining faithful to Him.

2015: 74. By observing the explicit and implicit exhortations throughout the book of Revelation enables one to flesh out what overcoming entails: worship of God alone, repentance, obedience, perseverance, and faithful witness unto death (see Stewart 2015: 76–79).

2015: 6.

2006: 299. Of course, Jesus, who is speaking to the seven churches and commanding most of them to repent, sees repentance of sin as necessary to remain faithful Him and to avoid becoming a unbeliever whose destiny in final damnation. After surveying repentance in the book of Revelation, Boda (2015: 180) says, “The final canonical book of the New Testament and the Bible as a whole continues to stress the theme of repentance as the normative response of those who are destined to live with the Lord in the present age and in the age to come.”

1954: 308–309. Strong appears to apply Taylor’s teaching to the progress of sin in the life of the sinner.

online Supplement for a full discussion of this passage.

TWENTY-FIVE

The Lord Disciplines His Children

Christians sin—no one denies this reality. Most Christians agree that sin should be dealt with on a daily basis through confession and repentance, but they disagree over how potentially dangerous sin is to the Christian engaged in it. For example, moderate Calvinist Ron Rhodes writes,

[W]e need to deal with sin on a daily basis. Why? Because when we sin we break our fellowship with the Father. (Don’t misunderstand. Only our fellowship is broken—not our standing as a member of God’s family. That standing is [eternally] secure.) When we break our fellowship with the Father through sin, we need to deal with sin so fellowship can be restored....

What happens if the Christian refuses to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction and chooses to continue sinning? This is not a wise thing to do. God loves us too much to let us perpetually remain in sin. Scripture reveals that if a child of God sins and refuses to turn from it and confess it, God—with a motive of love—brings discipline into his or her life to bring him or her to a point of confession (Hebrews 12:4–11). God’s desire is to restore fellowship with His

Later in his book, Rhodes restates his view:

I believe that Scripture consistently teaches that once a person trusts in Christ and becomes a part of God’s forever family, he or she is saved forever (Romans 8:28–30). No matter what that child of God does after the moment of salvation, he or she is saved [forever].

Of course, as we noted in the previous chapter, that does not mean that the Christian can get away with living in sin. If a child of God sins and refuses to repent, God brings discipline—sometimes very severe discipline—into his or her life to bring him or her to repentance (Hebrews

Before these above quotes, Rhodes says “it’s never okay for the Christian to ‘feel free to sin’ after he’s been saved. That is certainly not the teaching of But then he goes on to give the Christian the freedom to choose to “continue sinning” by assuring them that after one moment of faith, they are “saved forever,” a permanent “member” of “God’s forever family.” To “perpetually remain in sin” only results in a break of “fellowship” with God and exposes one to His “severe discipline,” but it has no bearing on one’s eternal “standing” before God—once a child of God, forever a child of God, “no matter what that child of God does after the moment of salvation.” Ultimately, Rhodes’s view does allow Christians to “get away with living in sin,” since they can go on living just like children of the devil and yet not share in the devil or his children’s same fate.

We agree that God, motivated by Fatherly love, can bring discipline into a Christian’s life to move them to confess and repent of their sin. But, as we have seen in previous chapters, there is more at risk for Christians engaged in sin than a loss of fellowship with God. The Christian who “continues sinning” without confession and repentance will eventually become an unbeliever (commit apostasy) and share in the unbeliever’s final destiny—hell. What is at stake in the battle with sin is eternal life or eternal death, dwelling with God forever in His Kingdom or being forever excluded from it. Persevering in faith and living a holy life through the power of the Spirit is essential for Christians to experience final salvation with a holy God, in His Holy City, with His holy people.

Rhodes is right that Christians who sin can experience “severe discipline” by God, but he misinterprets Hebrews 12:4–11 as teaching such. The divine discipline exercised in this passage is not because Christians are sinning and need to repent. We will look at this passage more closely later in the chapter, but let us mention a passage that Rhodes could have used in support of his view: 1Corinthians 11:17–34. In this passage, we find the Lord exercising “severe discipline” upon people in the Church who are sinning—with some having gotten weak, sick, and even died. The Lord’s discipline is aiming to bring about repentance and a swift stop to their sin. But even though this seems to be line with what Rhodes is arguing for, this is a unique situation in the life of a first-century church and can hardly be declared normative in how the Lord disciplines those sinning in the Church today. The most obvious reason we say this is because Paul specifically declares in his letter that the reason some members are weak, sick, and dying is due to the Lord disciplining sinful behavior in the Church. How could Paul know this unless he was given some supernatural insight into why this outbreak of illness and death was taking place in the Church? But unless someone is given such supernatural insight from the Lord today, it would be rather presumptuous for anyone in leadership to declare during an outbreak: “The Lord is disciplining us for our sin to lead us to repentance.”

Therefore, while we do not doubt that the Lord could act in a similar manner in dealing with obvious sin taking place in the Church today, we would need inside information from the Lord before ever ascribing such severe discipline as coming from His hand.

God has disciplined His people in the past for their sin to bring about a change in their behavior that lined up with His will and ways. We can learn valuable lessons from such examples of the past to help us in the We will focus our attention on two passages where divine discipline was occurring in the life of the Church: 1Corinthians 11:17–34 and Hebrews 12:3–11. While these passages are different in the specifics of divine discipline, we will discover that they share a parallel purpose or end goal that is not consistent with once saved, always saved teaching.

Now in giving this next instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there also have to be factions cf. Gal. 5:20] among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. Therefore when you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for when you eat, each one takes his own supper first; and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame [or “humiliate,” those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way [or “manner,” shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a person must examine himself and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep [= “are dead,” “have died,” But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, have him eat at home, so that you do not come together for judgment. As to the remaining matters, I will give instructions when I come. (1Corinthians 11:17–34,

What was supposed to be a unifying act of worship, the partaking of the Lord’s Supper when believers gathered together, has resulted in divisions, in factions, in drunkenness, and with some leaving hungry and humiliated for having attended this “service.” What exactly is going on here? Even though we cannot know with absolute certainty what was happening during these gatherings, commentators have provided enough information to better assist us in interpreting this passage in its historical-cultural context.

First, “Evidence ... shows the Lord’s Supper as it was instituted and practiced in the early church was an elaborate fellowship Christians shared “a common meal” that was followed by partaking of “the symbolic bread and cup of the Lord’s “Fellowship meals were held at private homes which served as the house churches. A likely scenario was that wealthy members of the church invited the rest to their private homes which was the focal meeting point for the

Second, these fellowship or communal meals were a common feature in the first-century “The very act of coming together and sharing a meal was a powerful symbol of social bonding in the ancient The Corinthian church “consisted of people from different socio-economic backgrounds”—“rich and poor, slaves and The congregation was comprised of both Jew and Gentile believers, with “Gentiles ... probably more in number than the These Gentile believers would have attended such meals prior to their conversion, either in a private home of someone wealthy or in a rented room in a temple of one of the gods. While these fellowship meals encouraged social bonding between equals, they were divided along social and economic lines. The rich were treated better than the poor because they were considered socially superior. This superiority was showcased during the fellowship meal. When you were invited to a wealthy person’s home for dinner and entertainment, you knew beforehand there was going to be an established social hierarchy where the rich were going to be given the best seats, the best food, and the best drink. The poor would be given food and drink, but the quality and quantity was going to be less than the rich enjoyed. This was how the cultural world operated at the time. Even some writers during this time were opposed to this social hierarchy being put on display during these fellowship Nevertheless, despite the objection by some, the rich being treated better than the poor at these meals was “normal” for the world in which they were

It appears that the wealthy Christians in the community were dividing “along socioeconomic lines” at these fellowship meals like they used to do before they became “Paul treats this problem with one of the angriest outbursts in the whole He cannot praise them, for when they come together, it is “not for the better, but for the worse.” “When you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper” in loving unity with one another, but to cause sinful “Each one eats his or her own supper, and those who have plenty ignore those who have little or nothing. This indifference shows contempt for the church of God and dishonors Christ’s self-giving sacrifice, which the Supper

What seems to be happening is...

Some in the Corinthian church began to eat before the others arrived, gorging themselves, consuming most of the provisions, and letting the others go hungry. The “drunken” are the wealthy who had the leisure to come early. They fed themselves full, and drank until they became ... The “hungry” were the slaves, common laborers, foundry workers, tired dock hands, and sick and disabled who were poverty stricken. Most of these would of necessity arrive late for the communal meal in the evening because they had to work until the sun set; these needed the most and received the least. It is scandalous to become drunken at the worship service; it is even worse to be “drunk” with a false sense of superiority and an indifference to the needs of the

Paul knows that such divisive and unloving behavior must be corrected because it can be spiritually destructive to the Christian community and the individuals engaged in such sinning (cf. 1Corinthians 3:16–17). Paul proceeds not only to give his own correctives, but also to alert them to the reality that God Himself is already taking action to correct such sinful behavior.

One corrective is found in Paul’s retelling “the story of the Last Supper ... to change their If partaking of the Lord’s Supper “represents above all else God’s radical grace and Christ’s selfless love, then those who dine together around it are called to extend that grace and that love to “Paul appeals to the tradition of Jesus’ institution of the meal in order to highlight Jesus’ death and to remind the Corinthians that they are to remember him as they eat together,” and it is “this memory” of Christ’s self-giving love that should elicit “a halt to their selfish

Another corrective is that believers “must examine themselves”—their attitudes and actions toward the poor in their midst—before they ever take a drink from the one cup and eat from the one loaf of bread (11:27–29). This self-examination is parallel to the self-judgment Paul says is needed to avoid divine judgment: “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged” (11:31). This self-judgment implies asking oneself: Do my actions and attitude toward other believers during the fellowship meal embody the same sacrificial love Christ displayed for others that we celebrate in the Lord’s Supper? Or do they embody the same sinful behavior the unbelieving world displays toward the

The failure to make an accurate self-examination or self-judgment leads to eating the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” (v. 22)—“to eat it in a way that provokes divisions (v.18) [and ‘factions,’ v.19], with contemptuous disregard for the needs of others in the community” (vv. By not showing love toward the poor and needy in their midst, Christians were “sinning ... against fellow believers, and consequently against Christ himself (see “Those who behave in this way are courting disaster” and “bringing God’s judgment on themselves (v.29)” in the form “of sickness and death that have befallen members of the

“But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (11:32). disciplinary can occur when believers “persist in overtly sinful “Such divine chastisem*nt is meant to function as a corrective It is divine “discipline” a form of divine judgment v.32), which is only necessary because the Corinthians have failed to rightly judge themselves in regard to their sinful behavior

“God’s disciplining of his children is a token of his fatherly “to bring God’s child to But note that the intended purpose for this divine discipline (leading to repentance) is to stop believers from persisting in their sin, which can lead them to commit apostasy (become and (eternally) condemned with the (unbelieving)

The “world” here refers to “the ungodly in the world who are from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Most commentators understand “condemned” as a reference to a and “final or “damnation of the non-believing that will take place at the final judgment.

Paul wants believers to repent of their “evil behavior” “just as in 3:16–17, 6:9–10, 9:24–27, and In essence, Paul says, “If you go on acting like unbelievers, in your sinful and unloving treatment of the poor at your fellowship meals, you will eventually become an unbeliever and share in their same destiny—eternal condemnation in hell.”

Paul warned believers earlier that they cannot persist in the same sins as the unjustified or unbeliever and expect to find themselves with God in His coming Kingdom (1Corinthians The sins of causing divisions, or its equivalent “factions” (11:19), and becoming drunk (11:21), are of such a serious nature to Paul that they warrant exclusion from God’s Kingdom if persisted in (1Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21; cf. Revelataion 21:8; If the Christians in Corinth fail to respond in repentance to this divine discipline, it will result in the perpetrators becoming identified with the unbelieving world, and they will “be condemned to and “excluded from God’s along with

We do not have enough information from the context to confidently declare the final destiny (heaven or hell) of those members of the church who died in Corinth due to God’s discipline. Without more details, we can hardly declare that God struck them dead to ensure that they went to heaven. What we can be certain of is that God did not tolerate sin, characteristic of the world, invading His church in Corinth and tearing it apart. God acted to stop this unloving and destructive behavior, but such discipline did not ensure that every Christian in Corinth would respond properly with We know that divine discipline/chastisem*nt was exercised upon God’s people in the past (Israel), but it did not always result in a positive response of God stimulates repentance through such discipline of His people, but it does not irresistibly make believers repent of their sin. This appears obvious when we see Paul writing the following words in a later letter to the church in Corinth:

We have seen how divine discipline was specifically exercised in the church at Corinth and for what purpose; now we want to consider the purpose of the Lord’s discipline in Hebrews 12.

If you look at various commentaries, Hebrews 12:4–13 is typically seen as the context for divine discipline. However, we find it important to include verses 1–3, since they have interconnected themes with what follows.

Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us, fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Think about the one who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not become tired [or “weary,” and give up. (12:1–3,

In chapter 11, the pastor has brought forth example after example of people who “persevered in the life of Now he “reintroduces the terms ‘endure’ and ‘endurance’ from 10:36–39 and builds his exhortation to perseverance on the accumulated weight of these examples. Thus, in verses 1–2 he urges his hearers to respond to the examples he has given by running the race ‘with endurance’ while keeping their eyes on Jesus who Endurance is “the virtue ... called by which the human being, unbroken by calamities, tortures, temptations, endures with courage in faith and The examples of old are worthy of imitation as they “by faith” endured calamities, tortures, and temptations because they were looking forward to a “better resurrection” (11:35) and “a better country—a heavenly one,” “a city” that God “has prepared ... for them” (11:16, The pastor goes on to present Jesus as “both the source and greatest example of endurance” to his In bearing the sins of the world on the cross, Jesus had to endure suffering, shame, and hostility from sinners. Such endurance led to His death, but it ultimately resulted in His resurrection and exaltation—the joy of being seated at the right hand of God the Father, who loved Him, and He Him. As the Pioneer and Perfecter of the faith, Jesus is “fully sufficient to bring” His readers “to faith’s goal and the ultimate example of endurance under suffering

co*ckerill (2012: 618) notes: “The pastor moves smoothly from Jesus’ triumph over suffering (vv. 1–3) to the suffering faced by his hearers (vv. 4–13), and from Jesus’ successful endurance (vv. 1–3) to their need for endurance (vv. 4–13).” Furthermore, he “puts the limited nature of their sufferings in perspective” by writing: “‘You have not yet resisted unto blood in your struggling against sin’ [v.4] ... as Jesus did on the Thus, “preparing his hearers ‘for what their imitation of Christ’s endurance might ultimately

As in 1Corinthians 11, the Lord’s discipline is an expression of love toward His as it is expressed here in Hebrews 12:5–13:

And have you completely forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons and daughters? “My son, do not belittle [“scorn,” “make light of,” the discipline of the Lord, nor lose heart at his reproof. For whom the Lord loves he disciplines; and chastises every son or daughter whom he accepts.” Endure [these as discipline, since God is treating you as sons and daughters. For if you are without the discipline of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons or daughters. Furthermore, we have had our fathers according to the flesh as disciplinarians, and we respected them. How much more rather should we submit completely to the Father of Spirits, and live. For on the one hand they disciplined us for a few days as seemed best to them; but he for benefit in order that we might come to share his holiness. And all discipline for the time being does not seem to be of joy but of grief [or “painful,” but afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of to those who have been trained by it. Therefore straighten the drooping hands and the enfeebled knees. And make straight paths with your feet, so that what is lame may not turn aside but rather be healed. (Translation by co*ckerill 2012: 614–615)

The race set before believers demands endurance so they will not grow weary and give up. The Lord’s discipline is to be endured by faith rather than belittled or allowed to lose heart at His Such discipline is painful, but it trains believers in the race to share in God’s holy character, that is, to be increasing “in the life of practical righteousness [v.11] and godliness (v.10), i.e. ‘that we share his Both holiness and righteousness are needed to complete the race so as to “see the Lord” (12:14), and “come” into “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” where “God” dwells with “the righteous, who have been made perfect” (12:22–23, Believers who “submit” (by to the Father’s discipline will “live” 12:9, will “enjoy eternal life, and be admitted to ... Christ’s

Witherington (2007: 331) says, “Suffering is a possible agent of sanctification if the believer allows it to drive himself or herself to God; it can make the believer better; it can draw the believer closer to God and to the narrow path” that leads to life everlasting.

“We need to remind ourselves that the Preacher is addressing a pastoral problem, not writing a theodicy. Taken as an absolute principle, the idea that all human suffering is actually the hand of a loving God teaching us good lessons is untenable.... But the Preacher is not trying to account for all suffering; the Preacher is trying to make sense of his congregation’s struggle to be faithful and not to fall away from the due to persecution or social pressure and ostracism. In short he is dealing with suffering for and on account of one’s faith:... “He is speaking particularly of the censure, insult, abuse, and deprivations suffered by the believers as a result of their association with Jesus and the people of God.... The deprivations faced on account of their commitment to Christ and to one another are actually core courses in God’s curriculum ... shaping them for their citizenship in the New

The Lord’s discipline in Hebrews 12 is “not the result of divine punishment” due to but rather, a nonpunitive educating or training for a particular task or In this context, the goal is to develop Christlike character (holiness and righteousness) and the greater capacity to endure hostility and persecution from sinners so that one can complete the race set before them and enter the Lord’s While “throwing off ... the sin that so easily entangles” is needed to finish the divine discipline is not taking place for the purpose of bringing about repentance due to sin here as it did in 1Corinthians Nevertheless, in both instances, God’s discipline must be properly responded to in order to fulfill its intended purpose or end result. In 1Corinthians 11, God’s discipline (which took the form of sickness and death in the church) was intended to awaken believers to their sin and lead them to repentance. Such repentance would prevent a believer from persisting in sin and potentially becoming an unbeliever (commiting apostasy), who would be eternally condemned to hell along with the rest of the unbelieving world. In Hebrews 12, the believer who endures and submits (by faith) to the Father’s discipline will be conformed to the character of God the Father and His Son (holiness and righteousness) and receive eternal life. In both passages, the believer’s response to God’s discipline will determine their eternal destiny—forever being in God’s presence and Kingdom or being shut out from it.

Being in God’s presence and Kingdom requires holiness, and while it is common for once-saved-always-saved teachers to encourage Christians to live holy lives through the power of the Spirit, they nevertheless view a life characterized by holiness as optional for going to heaven. Yet Scripture explicitly states that “holiness is a pre-requisite for seeing

Be pursuing [or ‘Keep on peace with all people, and the without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14,

This constant pursuit of holiness “corrects any misconceptions that Christ did everything for our sanctification and we need do nothing.... God’s holy people must respond in holy Indeed, God’s people “must not take these blessings [peace and holiness] for granted, but give diligence to preserve and cultivate because when “holiness” is “violated through the unfaithfulness of any member” (as warned about in verses 15–16), it “threatens the peace and holiness of the

The ongoing pursuit of holiness ultimately leads to seeing the Lord, that is, “to be admitted into his presence ... (Matthew 5:8; Hebrews 12:14; Revelaton and “future The unholy “will not enjoy the presence of Christ and God in the heavenly city (Hebrews 12:22–24; cf. Revelation 22:4; Matthew 5:8; 1John Seeing the Lord is “the final goal of one’s life of and refers to “final with God. This holiness (which “grows out of refers “to practical holiness as manifested by the pure and virtuous lives of God’s a conformity to “God’s own character, and it is only those who share it (v.10) who can ‘see’ Consequently, Thomas Schreiner rightly states: “Holiness is not for apart from it ‘no one will see the Lord.’ Seeking holiness is the opposite of falling away or apostasy. Holiness should not be understood in terms of sinlessness but describes those who continue to seek and pursue the Lord.... [It is they who] will see God’s face in the new creation (Rev. 22:4; cf. 1John 3:3; 1Cor.

For some once-saved-always-saved adherents, pursuing holiness in order to see God in His new creation sounds like “salvation by works.” We find this terribly misguided, especially when the author of Hebrews just mentioned that it was that Moses “chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24–25, Choosing to say “no” to enjoying the passing pleasures of sin is done by not by The author of Hebrews agrees with the teaching of the apostle Paul:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce [or “say ‘No’ to,” ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11–14)

The same God who graciously saved us (by faith) from sin is the same God who graciously is “training” us to (by faith) say “no” to all forms of ungodly and worldly passions, and to live holy lives until Christ returns to bring final salvation for His purified people zealous for good works. This is not salvation by works, but salvation by grace through faith that expresses itself in holy love and other Spirit-enabled fruit (cf. Galatians

Furthermore, Paul affirms that Christians are able to be putting to death the sinful deeds carried out in the body through the power of the indwelling Spirit (Romans 8:1–13; cf. Galatians 5:17–25; 6:7–8). How is this salvation by works? This is salvation by grace through faith enabled by the Spirit from first to last. We have already been made holy by faith in Christ (Acts 26:18; cf. 20:32) through His sacrificial death (Hebrews 10:10–14; cf. 9:14), and through the gracious work of the Spirit (Hebrews 10:29). But holiness of heart and life must be pursued (by faith) to the end of our Christian pilgrimage in order to one day see a holy God in His Holy City.

There is no doubt that once-saved-always-saved proponents will continue to teach Christians in their seminaries and churches throughout the world that repentance of sin, persevering in faith, and Spirit-empowered holiness are all optional for going to heaven. Actually, this has been going on for many years. Therefore, is it really surprising to see present-day Christians “defy biblical moral standards by living almost as sinfully as their pagan And “becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to Ronald Sider declares, “This scandalous behavior mocks Christ, undermines evangelism, and destroys Christian He goes on to add,

I am convinced that at the heart of our problem is a one-sided, unbiblical, reductionist understanding of the gospel and salvation. Too many evangelicals in too many ways give the impression that the really important part of the gospel is forgiveness of sins. ... If all there is to accepting the gospel is receiving the forgiveness of sins, one can accept the gospel, become a Christian, and then go on living the same adulterous, materialistic, racist life that one lived before. Salvation becomes, not a life-transforming experience that reorients every corner of life, but a one-way ticket to heaven, and one can live like hell until one gets there.... Whether emphasizing simplistic slogans such as “once-in-grace-always-in-grace” or ... neglect[ing] costly discipleship, we have propagated the heretical notion that people can receive forgiveness without sanctification, heaven without ... [Such teachings] are at the core of today’s scandalous evangelical

We are convinced with Sider that today’s scandalous evangelical behavior will never be corrected by adhering to the once saved, always saved brand of theology promoted by Free-Grace or moderate Calvinists, but it will only be made We need to follow the clear teachings of Jesus, Paul, James, John, and the writer of Hebrews, that heaven will not be our eternal home without pursuing (by faith) holiness in both heart and life through God’s empowering presence.

Rhodes, The Heart of Christianity: What it Means to Believe in Jesus (Harvest House Publishers, 1996), 99–100.

1996: 111.

1996: 98.

the very least, we do not want to participate in the same sins as God’s people in the past that prompted God to wield His hand of discipline.

fn. reads: “The word ‘first’ is not in the Greek text, but is implied.” We have supplied it in brackets for clarity as does the

2016: 124.

1997: 193. Cf. Jamir 2016: 125.

2016: 126.

practice of fellowship meals appears to be a common trend in the ancient world” (Jamir 2016: 1). This is particularly evident in how much Greek and Roman authors focus on these fellowship meals in their writings (Jamir 2016: 3).

2016: 125.

2016: 122, 133.

2016: 118.

preceding information is derived from Luke Dockery’s helpful article http://lukedockery.com/2016/04/04/it-is-not-the-lords-supper-that-you-eat-the-socio-historical-context-of-1-corinthians-11-17-34/.

was “normal” “for the Roman upper classes to flaunt their wealth at the expense of the poor. It was all part of the social game” (Fisk 2000: 66).

2003a: 533. Cf. Luke Dockery 2016/04/04.

1985: 211.

verb for “come together” can also mean “‘to be united.’ Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthians plays off this double sense of the term: when they come together as a church they paradoxically do not ‘come together’ in unity and peace” (Hays 1997: 194).

2003a: 533. “In 11:17–34, Paul seeks to correct the Corinthian desecration of the Lord’s Supper” (Garland 2003a: 533).

drunk at fellowship meals at a pagan club/guild or banquet was “common” in the culture, but “not considered to be proper table behavior” (Luke Dockery 2016/04/04). This is another instance where certain Church members, “largely made up of Gentile converts,” were reverting to engaging in the same kind of sinful behavior that characterized their pre-conversion days (Ibid.).

1985: 211–212.

2000: 69.

2000: 70.

1997: 194.

self-judgment “refers to the recognition and condemnation of overtly sinful behavior” (Yinger 1999: 256).

1997: 200. For Paul, a Christian eats in an unworthy manner “only as long as he or she persists in sin,” which “in this context, is against fellow believers” (Palma 1999: 866) and “has in mind the type of behavior described in 11:20–22 and 11:29–30” (Lockwood 2000: 399).

1999: 866. So Lockwood 2000: 399.

1997: 201. Christians “were eating and drinking judgment on themselves ... for their wrong attitudes and unloving behavior” (Horton 1999: 107).

1999: 256.

Yinger 1999: 256.

2000: 398.

1976: 260. Jamir (2016: 198) rightly states: “Though repentance is not mentioned by Paul as a prerequisite to escape the final judgment ... it is implied that repentance becomes a part of the equation.” Many commentators understand that Paul is calling for repentance to the Lord’s present discipline (Alford 1865: 200; Barrett 1968: 276; Benson 1856: 182; Beet 1882: 197; Hays 1997: 201; Hodge 1860: 234; Horton 1999: 107–108; Jamir 2016: 198; Kistemaker 1993: 404; Lockwood 2000: 403–404; Picirilli 1987: 171; Oropeza 2017: 157; Stamps 1992: 1795; Yinger 1999: 256).

(1900: 241–242) rightly says when believers “approach the Supper in an unhallowed frame of mind, faithless and loveless,” then the Lord’s Supper becomes “desecrated” and no longer proves to be a blessing of spiritual nourishment to them. The Lord’s chastisem*nt “intends to bring back the unworthy communicants to suitable reflection and to guard them against sinking back into the world and incurring a greater damnation.” When believers go on repeating this “unfaithfulness to the divine influences ... resisting the grace of Christ,” “the more closed does a man become against rebukes of the Spirit and the more disqualified from proper self-reflection and personal examination and purifying self-judgment, the nearer also does he approach that state of complete apostasy which brings with it damnation.”

1865: 209.

1993: 404; Hodge 1860: 234. Verbrugge 2008: 361 “the unbelieving ‘world.’” So Hays 1997: 201.

1987: 173; Claybrook 2003: 109; Mare 1976: 260. Cf. Godet 1889: 169.

356. So Kling 1900: 240.

of God condemning one to eternal misery: ... Mk. 16:16; 1 Co. 11:32; Jas. 5:9” (Thayer 332).

1856: 1862; Hays 1997: 201, 202

1997: 201, 202; Hodge 1860: 234; Mare 1976: 260; Picirilli 1987: 173; Wilson 2017: 129; Lockwood 2000: 398 “eternal condemnation” (cf. Stamps 1992: 1795). Verbrugge 2008: 361 “eternal judgment.”

1999: 258. So Kistemaker 1993: 404; Kretzmann 1922: 144; Kling 1900: 240.

1999: 258.

this context, the rich were cheating the poor by taking them to court over petty issues before unrighteous judges and likely winning the lawsuit. Paul clearly viewed this as sinful and unloving behavior that was characteristic of unbelievers and in need of correction (i.e., via repentance). See chapter 14 for full discussion.

Stamps 1992: 1795.

2003: 109. So Horton 1999: 107–108.

2017: 157. So Kling 1900: 240.

it is correct to say that this divine chastising judgment, as well as the self-judgment, preserve from final condemnation; however, they do so not automatically ... but through their function of leading to repentance” (Yinger 1999: 257; cf. Jamir 197–198.).

(1999: 257, fn. 180) provided two enlightening references from Jeremiah on this manner that deserve a hearing. In Jeremiah chapter 2, the Lord communicates to Jeremiah how Israel has forsaken Him by persisting in idolatrous apostasy. This, despite the fact that “Israel was holy to the Lord” (2:3a) when He brought them into the land, and “All who tried to devour them were punished” (2:3b, Due to their rejection of the Lord via idolatry, He allows their enemies to defeat them. This did not have to take place, since the Lord says, “In vain I have struck your sons; They did not accept discipline [or ‘correction,’ (Jer. 2:30a). Jeremiah later writes:

So say all these things to them [i.e., Israel], but they will not listen to you. Call to them, but they will not answer you. Say to them, “This is the nation that did not obey the Lord its God or accept discipline [or ‘correction,’ Faithfulness has perished, and it has disappeared from their lips. Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken this generation under his wrath.” (Jeremiah 7:27–29,

After providing a brief survey of God’s discipline in the Jewish scriptures (p. 128), Andrew Wilson (2017: 129–130) concluded that when God disciplines His people it is to push them toward repentance and demonstrate that they are indeed His children. Nevertheless, after surveying the relevant passages, the correcting of sinful behavior takes priority over family status. God shows His love for His children through discipline, and this is certain, but His intention is to bring about their obedience through repentance. If Paul intended here that God’s discipline, in and of itself, guaranteed that they would never experience final condemnation, whether or not they repented and changed their behavior, then Paul would be “parting company with the Jewish tradition on that point,” and this “is unlikely.” See online Supplement on “Calvin’s errors regarding God’s chastening in the Davidic Covenant.”

notes how some commentators “surmise it as the sin of apostasy (cf. Heb 3:13; 10:26)” in 12:1. However, we agree with Oropeza when he writes,

The closest prior mention of sin is in 11:25, which speaks of Moses choosing mistreatment with God’s people over the temporary pleasures of sin. That sin also has been understood as apostasy. But its connection with pleasure (ἀπόλαυσις/cf. ἀπόλαύω), when used in a negative sense, often refers to enticements related to forbidden foods and sensual vices, and this comes close to the meaning of sin in 12:16. The imagery of laying aside excess impediments in 12:1 is something normally done before the race starts, which tend to make the “sin” relevant to pre-conversion impediments that would hinder the participants during their new course of life if they are not discarded. The sin in 12:1 therefore refers to pre-converted sins or sin in general (cf. 9:26). It is not referring to apostasy per se.

2012: 600.

2012: 113, fn. 63, quoting Francisco Zorrell’s definition Testamenti Lexicon Graecum [Paris: Lethielleux, 1911].

2012: 605. “Jesus’ earthly life is the supreme example of and incentive for persevering faith.... By fixing our eyes on Jesus, we are anchored in faith and are progressively transformed into his likeness” (Adams 1999: 1378–1379).

2012: 601. Faith’s goal in running the race with endurance is to enter “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (12:22), which is also referred to as “a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (12:28, cf. 11:16).

2012: 618, 619.

2012: 619, who quotes Attridge. Adams (1999: 1379) says Jesus modeled “purposeful endurance” through His suffering of the cross and by having kept “the joy set before him” (12:2)—the joy of knowing that one day He will be bringing many sons and daughters to glory (i.e., bringing them into His glorious presence to experience final salvation with Him, 9:27–28). The exhortation to “consider” what Jesus endured from his oppressors should inspire Christians not to “grow weary” and “give up” (12:3, but to persevere through all kinds of trials, hardships, and persecutions that come their way.

(1999: 1380) notes the following: The Greek word paideia (discipline) “derives from the parent-child relationship in ancient times.” It carries the meaning “of rebuke and correction, but also involves the positive teaching, training, and guiding instruction of a loving parent in order to bring a son or daughter to mature adulthood.” Since our Father disciplines those He loves (12:6), we should endure hardships “as an expression of his loving discipline.”

words are from co*ckerill. The NET and EHV supply “suffering” in their translations here as well.

denotes the substance of the fruit, ‘peaceable’ its quality.... Righteousness is here ... moral perfection wrought ... into the soul by obedience [to divine discipline]. DEL.: ‘Righteousness of life springing out of righteousness by faith’” (Wolf 1898: 488).

(1999: 1380) notes that according to verse 5, there are two wrong responses to being disciplined by the Lord in the midst of our trying circ*mstances. (1) We can “make like of” it (12:5), by simply “not taking it seriously.” Such a response entails disregarding such discipline. (2) We can “lose heart” (12:5) at his reproof/rebuke. Resentment usually follows on the heels of this rebuke when a child withdraws or gives up whenever they are corrected by a parent no matter how loving this correction has been administered. In contrast, as God’s dearly loved children, we ought to see the discipline of the Lord as a testimony to His gracious love “and commitment to us as our Father.”

1970: 1214.

trained by God’s discipline are “those who in responsive and persistent faith are prepared to submit to the unseen God, and actively to cooperate in letting the discipline do its work ... .” (Stibbs 1970: 1214). Cf. Anderson 2018: 321, “Submission to divine training requires confident, enduring faith.” Kretzmann (1922: 488) notes that this “obedient” submission “toward God” “flows out of faith.” Lane (1991: 2:425) says “the gift of sharing in God’s holiness ... almost certainly [refers] to a future conformity to God’s character through persevering faith.”

168. So Robinson 317; Thayer 270. BDAG 425 “to live in a transcendent sense ... in the glory of the life to come.” Cremer 271 in the state of Commentators see “live” = “eternal life” (Alford 1872: 731; Benson 1856: 565; Binney & Steele 1879: 622; co*ckerill 2012: 635; Ellingworth 1993: 654; Gundry 2010: 911; Healy 2016: 264; Lünemann 1882: 447; Michaels 2009: 448; Outlaw 2005: 328; Witherington 2007: 331; Osborne 2021: 276); or its equivalent “eschatological salvation” (Lane 1991: 2:424; Schreiner 2015: 385).

(2007: 331) is here quoting Long, p. 134.

2007: 331–332. End quote is from deSilva, Perseverance in 430.

2012b: 59.

function of paideia ... is not punitive in character” (Witherington 2007: 330; So Oropeza 2012b: 59; Bateman & Smith 2021: 331, 333).

Oropeza 2012b: 59–60. Adams (1999: 1379–1380) says the author encourages his readers throughout his sermon “to new resolve and faithfulness in the midst of their trials and adversity.” Sure, they have endured a time of persecution in their past (10:32–34), but “in their ‘struggle against sin’ they have ‘not yet resisted to the point of shedding ... [their] blood’ (12:4).” As Christians they have yet to experience “a bloody persecution.” “Their ‘struggle against sin’ refers, most likely, to the sin of their oppressors, who are seeking to pressure them into abandoning their faith.” Persecution has the tendency to wear Christians down and cause them to lose hope. Yet, their present sufferings cannot compare to what the faithful heroes before them (ch. 11) had to endure, nor to what Jesus had to endure. Verse 4 is intended to shame the readers for losing their resolve to remain faithful and loyal to Christ through their time of persecution. There is no doubt that times of persecution “can disturb faith and provoke questions about God’s love.” However, the author will show in 12:5–11 “how God takes adversity and the harsh experiences of life and lovingly uses them as educative discipline to train us as his children in faith” and mold us into the character of sons and daughters who reflect the holy and righteous character of God the Father and His Son.

(1999: 1378) says sin can “tangle the feet and trip a person up so that he or she falls, drops out of the race, and misses the prize, ‘which is God’s gracious gift of eternal life to all who complete the race’ (Peterson, 1994, 1329).”

outcome of this discipline is not repentance but rather a larger capacity for endurance” (Witherington 2007: 330).

Thomas 2007: 308.

2005: 331; co*ckerill 2012: 633.

pursuit of holiness “presupposes a state of ... holiness that has been obtained by faith and through the atonement of Christ made available in the New Covenant relationship with God (Hebrews 10:10, 14)” (Miller 1988: 406).

Thomas 2007: 308.

2012: 633. G. Thomas rightly notes that pursuing peace and holiness are not to be “misconstrued as private piety, rather than corporate godliness” (2007: 309). This is evident since

Peace and holiness are held in tandem. If the essence of holiness is a right relationship with a holy God, then the vital tangible expression of holiness is right relationships with other people. The pursuit of God’s holiness, then, can never be individualistic. God’s peace ... is only evident in our lives in the nexus of relationship. In the context of this section of Hebrews, it points to the need of the community to maintain wholeness within it (G. Thomas 2007: 309).

2012: 635.

2124. So Robinson 513; Bloomfield 302; Milligan 1973: 458.

451. “Messianic blessedness in the consummated kingdom of God” (Lünemann 1882: 451).

2012b: 60. Several commentators understand “seeing the Lord” = dwelling in the Lord’s presence in “heaven” (Pink 1954: 998–999; Barnes 1855: 371; Clarke 1837: 2:779; Binney & Steele 1879: 622; Coffman 1984: 10:298; Osborne 2021: 282).

1998: 154. co*ckerill (2012: 634–635) writes,

Although on earth the faithful of old did not enjoy the access to God now available through Christ, they kept the eyes of faith on the “invisible” God whose presence they would enter at journey’s end. The faithful since Christ enjoy a present access to God, so beautifully described in vv. 22–24 below, but they still, by faith, keep their eyes fixed on “Jesus” at God’s right hand (12:2; cf. 2:9; 8:1) in anticipation of final entrance into the divine presence, when the faithful of all time will “see” God. The pastor’s focus here on the ultimate vision of God fits well with his concern for perseverance.

2007: 333.

1922: 489.

1984: 10:298. So Outlaw 2005: 311.

2006: 174.

holiness is “no optional extra in the Christian life but something that belongs to its essence. It is the pure in heart, and none but they, who shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Here, as in v. 10, practical holiness of life is meant, the converse of those things against which a warning is uttered in the verses which follow” (Bruce 1990: 348). “The holy life is not an elective or optional manner for Christians, but is demanded and required of all who hope to enter heaven” (Coffman 1984: 10:298).

2015: 390–391.

“throwing off the sin that so easily entangles” (12:1) would naturally be understood by the author of Hebrews as done by faith as well.

Acts 26:12ff, Paul describes his conversion through his encounter with the resurrected Lord to King Agrippa. Paul shares how Jesus told him that He would “rescue” him from his own Jewish “people, and from the nations [i.e., Gentiles] to whom I am going to send you, so that you can open their eyes to enable them to turn from darkness to light, and from the power of the satan to God—so that they can have forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who are made holy [or “sanctified,” by their faith in me” (Acts 26:17–18, Notice that those who trust in Jesus not only receive forgiveness of sins, but an “inheritance” among those “made holy” “to purify internally,” Thayer 6). This inheritance is “a new eternal destiny grounded in a new identity” (Larkin 2006: 630) which is nothing less than “eternal salvation” (Thayer 349; cf. Renn 518) “to be enjoyed by the people of God (cf. Acts 26:18; Col. 1:12)” (Renn 518) “in the Kingdom of God” (Abbott-Smith 249). “The verb [for ‘made holy’] is a perfect passive participle indicating a condition that began in the past and had continuing effect into the present” (Witherington 1998: 745, fn. 502). Jesus teaches Paul that believers’ past and present state of sanctification or holiness is by faith in Him, not works. Paul, in his farewell address to elders/pastors in Ephesus, follows what Jesus said to him: “Now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all whom God has made holy (Acts 20:32, The verb for “made holy” is identical to 26:18, and the “inheritance” carries the same meaning as salvation (as the inheritance of God’s children)” (BDAG 548; cf. Mounce’s 359; F&M 232), which entails “admission to the kingdom of God” (Robinson 401; Bloomfield 220; Strong’s 2101; cf. Thayer 349).

Sider, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? (Baker Books 2005: 14).

Barna quoted in Sider 2005: 13. Calvinist Michael Horton laments how respected pollsters like “Gallup and Barna hand us survey after survey demonstrating that evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as the world in general” (Sider 2005: 13).

2005: 15.

Gagnon writes: “Claiming that grace does not require of Christians a transformed life ... is an antinomian heresy that needs to be stamped out.” “If you believe that the new covenant makes it possible (albeit not preferable) to live a sin-controlled life without fear of not inheriting God’s kingdom, consider yourself a purveyor of the heresy of antinomianism” (Twitter, July 13 and 14, 2021).

2005: 57–59. Cf. Kyle Snodgrass, You Need a Better Gospel: Reclaiming the Good News of Participation with Baker Academic 2022: 11–12,

The emphasis on making a decision so one can go to heaven assumes the gospel is more about going to heaven in a security blanket than about life with God now. This has led to gross distortions of the gospel. God is moved to the margins of life, since the “big issue” is settled, and we can pretty much go on as before.... “Once saved, always saved” is supposed to be a comfort, but ... there can be no comfort in believing an illegitimate gospel that does not produce transformation in one’s life. Decisions are important, but response to the gospel is more than a decision. It is a life. Conversion is an ongoing process of life with as the New Testament emphasizes repeatedly....

The root of the problem is the erroneous ... understanding people have of the word “faith.” “Faith” is viewed as a mental activity ... “Just believe; you do not have to do anything.” Faith is not mental activity; it is life activity. It is not about checking a box for a ticket to heaven.... [Faith in Christ] is about a relation[ship] with Christ that binds us to him, involves us with him and his purposes, engages us in his work, and delivers wonderful outcomes.... Faith is participation with Christ.... Being joined to Christ and taking on his character....

the two excellent PDF articles by New Testament scholar Robert Gagnon who biblically addresses the Hyper-Grace/Free Grace perspective of Alan Chambers and his pastor Clark Whitten: “Time for a Change of Leadership at Exodus? Alan Chambers Assures ‘Gay Christians’ That Unrepentant hom*osexual Practice Is No Barrier to Salvation ... among Other Gospel Distortions and Bad Moves.” “Cheap Grace Masquerading as Pure Grace: The Unfortunate Gospel of Rev. Clark Whitten—Alan Chambers’ Mentor, Pastor, and Chair of His Board.” Both can be obtained at http://www.robgagnon.net/ArticlesOnline.htm.

TWENTY-SIX

Apostasy: Real or Imaginary?

Are believers actually in peril of apostatizing—relationally departing from the lifegiving God? Some do not think so. Many apologists for the doctrine of unconditional security, in an attempt to reconcile the warning passages with their a priori doctrine, explain them as being only God’s means of ensuring that believers shall not fall away from faith. The essence of the arguments of many is as follows: The mere fact that travelers are warned that there is a ditch alongside the road does not mean they will fall into it. The warnings must not lead us to suppose that they will or can. God warns believers simply because, as rational beings, they are so constituted as to require motivation. He therefore appeals to their fears to keep them on the path. But the warnings do not prove that believers will fall; on the contrary, they are God’s means of ensuring that they shall not fall.

One will not read long from advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security before encountering this “explanation” of the presence of so many urgent warnings against apostasy so obviously addressed to believers. The folly of their contention is seen in the fact that, the moment a man becomes persuaded that his doctrine of unconditional security is correct, the warning passages immediately lose the very purpose and value he claims for them. Strong (1909: 885) quotes Dr. A.C. Kendrick on Hebrews 6:4–6: “The text describes a condition subjectively possible, and therefore needing to be held up in earnest warning to the believer, while objectively and in the absolute purpose of God, it never occurs.” But how can there be any “earnest warning” to the believer who is sufficiently “instructed” to understand that the “warning” is directed against an impossibility? How can something be subjectively possible for the person who knows it to be objectively impossible? The only possible circ*mstance under which the warning passages could serve the purpose and function which he claims for them would be the total rejection of the doctrine of unconditional security and inevitable perseverance.

Reformed theologian Dr. G.C. Berkouwer (1903–1996) insists that perseverance is inevitable and “does not depend on us, but on God’s and he pleads for this bankrupt “explanation” of the warning passages. He asserts that “a central datum of the doctrine of perseverance” lies in the harmonious relation of “the gracious faithfulness of God” (which makes apostasy impossible and perseverance inevitable) and “the dynamic of the actual struggle of life” (in which it is quite necessary that we be constantly motivated by alarming threats and warnings of the dire calamity of apostasy that stalks us at every turn, so we may continually be roused to activity, watchfulness, and prayer, and thus deliberately continue in

Berkouwer declares that the admonitions “have as their end the preservation of the Church, which precisely in this way is established in that single direction which is and which must remain irreversible—the direction from death to Therefore, for the warning passages to perform their divinely ordained function in securing the perseverance and preservation of the Church, it is altogether necessary, according to Berkouwer, that the warnings be regarded with sincere alarm:

Anyone who would take away any of this tension, this completely earnest admonition, this many-sided warning, from the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints would do the Scriptures a great injury and would cast the Church into the error of carelessness and sloth.

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints can never become an a priori guarantee in the life of believers which would enable them to get along without admonitions and warnings. [Despite Berkouwer’s protest, this is precisely what Calvin’s doctrine of perseverance inevitably becomes for everyone who embraces it.] Because of the nature of the relation between faith and perseverance, the whole gospel must abound with admonition. It has to speak thus, because perseverance is not something that is merely handed down to us, but it is something that comes to realization only in the path of Therefore the most earnest and alarming admonitions cannot in themselves be taken as evidence against the doctrine of perseverance.

To think of admonition and perseverance as opposites, as contradictories, is possible only if we misunderstand the nature of perseverance and treat it in isolation from its correlation with faith. For the correct understanding of the correlation between faith and perseverance, it is precisely these admonitions that are significant, and they enable us to understand better the nature of

Berkouwer insists that “perseverance is not something that is merely handed down to us, but something that comes to realization only in the path of faith.” He insists there is a real necessity for “alarming admonitions,” for they are precisely the means God has ordained for motivating believers and thus securing their perseverance. But when we become sufficiently “enlightened” to understand (as Berkouwer also insists) that perseverance is inevitable and does not depend upon us in any manner or degree, just how are we to manage to become alarmed by the admonitions and warnings?

It would be of interest to learn from Dr. Berkouwer how recently he himself has experienced sincere alarm at the reading of any of the “alarming admonitions” with which the whole Gospel abounds. If he experiences sincere alarm at the reading of the “alarming admonitions,” is it because he actually fears he might turn aside from “the path of faith” and fall from grace? Or, if he does not experience sincere alarm, is it because he considers that, for himself (in contrast with all other believers), it is permissible for the Reformed doctrine of inevitable perseverance to constitute “an a priori guarantee,” which enables him to “get along without admonitions and warnings”? We would be interested to know whether Dr. Berkouwer actually experiences sincere alarm as he contemplates the “alarming admonitions” with which the Gospel abounds; and if so, to declare why; and if not, to declare why not.

Berkouwer’s explanation is perhaps implied in his statement: “Faith always directs itself anew to this confidence [the inevitability of perseverance]. In this perspective it always discovers a fresh consolation, after it has allowed itself to be earnestly But such a contention must be rejected for the following reasons:

First, Berkouwer’s contention implies that the “consolation” passages and the “alarming admonitions” cannot be viewed with complete sincerity at one and the same time, for a person cannot be motivated by the “alarming admonitions” until he abandons his confidence in the “consolation” passages—the (supposed) promises of God that perseverance is inevitable and apostasy is impossible. Thus, a person cannot accept all the testimony of the holy Scriptures at face value at one and the same time. Instead, he can only oscillate between two contradictory persuasions, both of which are supposedly equally warranted by the Scriptures.

Again, the “alarming admonitions” thus serve—not to prevent believers from falling into “the error of carelessness and sloth,” but rather only to recover them after they have fallen into such error. The “alarming admonitions” can begin to motivate the individual only after the error of carelessness and sloth has actually been established.

Again, Berkouwer’s contention assumes it is inevitable that the individual will eventually heed the warnings. But according to the Scriptures, this is itself a matter of contingency, as we have argued throughout the book.

Typical of Calvinists, in their repeated attempts to reconcile the warning passages with their a priori doctrine of unconditional security and inevitable perseverance, are Berkouwer’s numerous self-contradictions. In his chapter “The Reality of Perseverance,” Berkouwer asserts that there is no factor whatever in man that may in any way determine the issue of perseverance, for “in this way the consolation of perseverance would most certainly be lost, because the final outcome would be put again in the hands of persevering But in his chapter “Perseverance and Admonition,” he asserts that “the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints can never become an a priori guarantee in the life of believers which would enable them to get along without admonitions and warnings.” But if “the consolation of perseverance” is the assurance that the final outcome is not in the hands of persevering man, does not this “consolation” constitute “an a priori guarantee” of perseverance for all who embrace it? If it does not constitute such a guarantee, just what does it constitute? And if the final outcome is in no way in the hands of persevering man, then how can the “alarming admonitions” be sincere?

In his chapter “The Reality of Perseverance,” Berkouwer writes:

Nevertheless, it is clear that the Reformed doctrine intends to point out a constancy in the actual life of the believer himself. When it speaks so emphatically about perseverance as a gift, about the gracious character of God’s covenant in its manifold riches, and about the power of Christ’s intercession, these are indissolubly connected with a constancy in the lives of the believers themselves.... [The possibility of] total falling, therefore, has had to be rejected....

...

[The doctrine of perseverance is a proper] subject for preaching. For this preaching... is a great and moving experience for the believer, one which constrains him to marvel about the constancy which is his in Christ. This marvelling will always be the deepest foundation for the thankfulness which fills the believer’s life as he goes to meet the

But just how can one continually “marvel at the constancy which is [unconditionally and inevitably] his in Christ” and, at the same time, reject it as “an a priori guarantee” of perseverance? Just how can one embrace a doctrine that denies the possibility of total falling and, at the same time, reject it as an a priori guarantee of perseverance?

In his chapter “The Consolation of Perseverance,” Berkouwer writes:

admonition has a very important place in the life of the believer. It occurs on almost every page of Holy Scripture. But to think that this element of contingency expresses the entire gospel teaching regarding perseverance is to ignore completely the Scriptural teaching that faith always rests in the steadfastness and faithfulness of God’s grace. This ever present grace is never spoken of in a simplistic fashion, as if it were something that could be taken for granted. However, the faith to which we are incessantly called opens up to our view a marvelous

But just how it is possible to view a “marvelous continuity” that is seen as an inevitable corollary of “the steadfastness and faithfulness of God’s grace” and, at the same time, reject that inevitable continuity as an a priori guarantee of perseverance? Again, how is it possible for faith to “rest in the steadfastness and faithfulness of God’s grace” and, at the same time, refuse to take that grace “for granted”?

We must reject Berkouwer’s assertion that the grace of God must not be taken for granted. Quite to the contrary, the constancy of the grace of God must be taken for granted. True faith can have no other view of the grace of God. What must not be taken for granted is the constancy of our faith. This is the object and concern of the “alarming admonitions.” The warning passages do not in any sense suggest that we are not to take for granted the steadfastness and faithfulness of God’s grace, but rather that we are not to take for granted the constancy of our faith.

Berkouwer’s difficulty stems from his erroneous assumption that the faithfulness of God ensures that we, too, must inevitably prove faithful. He asserts that, in our consideration of perseverance and continuity, we must

start with the doctrine of the faithfulness of God’s grace, which is certainly of most decisive importance for the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. In this doctrine, there is great emphasis on the immutability of God’s counsel in Jesus God’s grace is affirmed as the reality of preservation. It would not be incorrect to say that faith affirms perseverance, the constancy of God’s grace, the permanency of His faithfulness and of His eternal love.

...

His faithfulness does not depend on our faithfulness, nor on anything that is or will be present in us. There is rather a “nevertheless,” an “in spite of.”

...

It is clear that one need add nothing to this faithfulness and constancy. The greatness of God’s faithfulness and preservation, indeed, was a temptation to many to speak no longer of perseverance, but only of

But contrary to Berkouwer’s assumption, the faithfulness of God does not ensure a corresponding faithfulness in us. This fact has already been observed (see chapter 13). But let us again observe that, while the faithlessness of many in Israel did not nullify the faithfulness of God in keeping His promises, neither did the faithfulness of God prevent the faithlessness of many of His covenant people (Romans 3:3–8). The faithfulness of God with respect to Israel did not prevent “some of the branches” from being broken off through unbelief (Romans 11:20–22), nor will it prevent a like calamity for individual Gentile believers who fail to continue to stand by faith. Paul assures us that, if we prove unfaithful (commit apostasy), Christ will yet remain faithful to saving His faithful people. But while He cannot deny Himself, Paul assures us that He will deny us, if we deny Him (2Timothy 2:12–13). His faithfulness is no unconditional guarantee against either the possibility or the consequences of our own apostasy. “Remain in Me,” said Jesus, “and I in you.” Christ confronts all who would be His with the necessity of a living faith that has nothing in common with the barren presumptions engendered by theological sophistry.

Most aspects of Calvinism enjoy the sanctuary of the purely academic, in which realm it is perhaps possible to contrive some sort of apology for almost any hypothesis. But in its attempt to reconcile the warning passages with its a priori doctrine of unconditional security and inevitable perseverance, Calvinism must emerge from the sanctuary of the abstract and submit to the judgment of the conscious experience of men. It is true that we dare not define our doctrines by the measure of human experience and feelings. That is an essential axiom. But the aspect of doctrine now before us is necessarily an exception to the rule. Surely, we shall not be asked to believe that we cannot know whether we experience sincere alarm as we contemplate the “alarming admonitions” with which “the whole gospel must abound.” It is impossible for one not to know whether he experiences sincere alarm. And it is equally impossible for one to be sincerely persuaded that apostasy is impossible, and also sincerely alarmed by the warnings against apostasy. Calvinism’s necessary assumption is found to be false by the judgment of human experience. Completely unpersuasive is the assumption that men are to be sincerely persuaded that apostasy is impossible and, at the same time, sincerely alarmed by the warnings. Equally unpersuasive is any assumption that men are to oscillate between two contradictory persuasions like a pendulum and are not to view the whole testimony of the Scriptures with complete sincerity at one time, but are to be one day sincerely persuaded that the Bible warns us against apostasy, and another day sincerely persuaded that the Bible assures us that apostasy is impossible.

The fallacy of Calvinism’s assumption, essential to the defense of its doctrine of perseverance, is constantly demonstrated in the tragic inconsistency in the personal ministry of pastors who entertain it. They profess to believe that, while all true believers will inevitably persevere, it is only within the context of the dynamic exercise of faith that the perseverance is unfolded. They profess to believe that the warning passages are designed of God to effect this perseverance by motivating believers to continue in faith and to fear apostasy, and that the perseverance is realized only as believers take solemn heed to the warning passages. These things they profess to believe (at least, when pressed to account for the presence of the warning passages). But their preaching and teaching seem designed to prevent the warning passages and “alarming admonitions” from accomplishing the purpose they profess to believe God intends them to serve. They never miss an opportunity to “explain” the warning passages in such a way as to dispel any concern that their hearers might have for them, and they continually assure them that they are unconditionally secure for all time and eternity, with no contingency whatever. They constantly do their utmost to destroy the concern of their hearers for the warnings and admonitions that they acknowledge to be God’s means of motivating believers to persevere. Those who do preach the warnings with earnestness and conviction they accuse of being “confused” and “doctrinally unsound,” and of not believing in salvation by grace. Wisdom is justified of her children, but only eternity will reveal the full measure of the tragedy of this popular fallacy and the inevitable inconsistency of all who embrace it.

Contrary to the assumptions of some, the warnings were not given merely because there are no other motives by which believers may be motivated to persevere; for there are other motives, such as gratitude to God for His forgiveness and grace, increased joy through faithfulness, and the concern for the spiritual well-being of those who are influenced by our lives. The warnings were given, not to supply a lack of any motive for perseverance, but because of the existence of a real and deadly peril with which we must reckon.

That the peril of apostasy is real, rather than imaginary, is evident from the fact that the Bible records actual instances of it. Numerous examples are to be found in the Bible. We shall cite only some instances in the New Testament on which we have not already provided

If the apostle Paul believed and taught that apostasy was an impossibility for Christians, then his parting words of warning to Christian pastors in Acts 20 stand entirely at odds with such a viewpoint.

And now I know that none of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom will see me again. Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the of you all. For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God. Watch for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching [of the to draw the away after them. Therefore be remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. And now I entrust you to God and to the message [“word,” of his grace. This message is able to build you and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:25–32,

Paul warns the Christian elders/overseers/pastors in to be constantly on the alert and watching out for themselves and for God’s For he predicts a coming time when “the Ephesian Christians would be troubled by false teachers from without and that will lead to “apostasy the Christian Shockingly, some of the Christian pastors Paul is addressing “will become apostate” “false teachers” who “seduce their congregation members away from the Christian They will teach perversions of the Gospel message (cf. Galatians 1:6–9; 2Peter in hopes of drawing away “Christian to follow “after” them rather than to keep following “after” Jesus (Luke 9:23; 14:27; Acts who is the Source of eternal life and salvation for Believers who follow the false teachers would necessarily be “guilty of and in becoming unbelievers, they would forfeit the eternal life/salvation found through trusting/following the Savior, Jesus the Paul prophetically predicted the actual (not hypothetical) apostasy of some Christian pastors and the consequent apostasy of believers who would follow them and their perverted false teaching. That we know his prediction came true “at Ephesus is evident from the Pastoral Epistles [cf. 1Timothy 1:19–20; 4:1–3; 2Timothy 2:17–18; 3:1–9] and from the letter to the Ephesian church in

Of these cited examples, we have already commented on 1Timothy 4:1–3 (see chapter 9), where Paul states, “the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some of the faith will apostatize by being devoted to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (4:1, Now we want to note other instances of actual apostasy taking place in Ephesus.

This charge I commit to Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophetic utterances which pointed to you, that inspired by them you may wage the good faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their among them Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1Timothy 1:18–20,

“Central to this charge is the defense and preservation of the true faith, which is currently under [attack from false teachers].... Timothy is to wage warfare ... by holding on to faith and a good conscience (v.19).... Faith involves here the act of trusting in A good conscience is the state where one’s own moral self-evaluation says that one has been obedient to “The conscience functions as the Christian’s moral and “is guided in its everyday life by faith, trust in the living God, to guide and to teach Holding on to a good conscience (by faith) would entail being committed to following the Christian faith proclaimed by Christ’s apostles as the basis for godly “Without a good conscience, Timothy could end up like Hymenaeus (cf. 2Timothy 2:17) and Alexander (cf. 2Timothy 4:14) who had shipwrecked their faith

Paul, “as a warning, cites two tragic examples of men whose moral laxity has led to their faith being “Paul’s warning is not merely hypothetical or theoretical. Such abandonment of faith and good conscience does They have “rejected” or better, “‘thrust away from themselves’ a good The verb expresses a “deliberate “a willful and violent against conscience. By thrusting away (in a good conscience, Hymenaeus and Alexander are “willfully and self-consciously disobedient to God’s [moral] This leads them to follow “their indulge in “Without a good conscience it is impossible to sail in the ship of faith. The loss of the one is the wreck of the Shipwreck is a metaphor that “conveys a complete loss of the a “total and serves as a fitting “metaphor for since these men have “lost their faith Thus, Hymenaeus and Alexander “were once true who personal faith comparable to Timothy’s (1:18–19a), but that faith was and thus they became (unbelievers) and forfeited the “eternal life” that Paul has just noted to be conditional upon faith/trust in Jesus in verse 16. “[I]t is obvious that a conscientious, moral life, is essential to the stability of the life of faith,”and “The sight of another’s apostasy ought to lead us to greater diligence ... and

Later, Paul exhorts Timothy to

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy [better—are “destroying” “overthrowing” the faith of (2Timothy 2:15–18,

and Philetus have “departed from the truth” regarding the We do not know all the details in regard to their denial of a resurrection that will take place in the future. The heretics did not deny “that Christ has been raised ... but they are saying that that resurrection has been and always will be the only one.... There is no other rising of the dead to look for, to hope for. They have effectively reduced Jesus’ resurrection to ‘an isolated miracle,’ as in the Greek authors cited by A. Oepke, TDNT 1.369, and thus have struck a reasonable compromise with the drastic, materialistic pessimism of Greek culture” (i.e., that there is no resurrection after one

Paul believed, as most ancient Jews did, that at the final judgment “there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous” (Acts 24:15, Jesus Himself said, “a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out—the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation” (John 5:28–29,

What has moved these heretics to deny this general It took some pressure off the “intellectual scandal,” the “‘scientific’ absurdity” it provoked in “contemporary pagans” and in certain parties in The greater motive was to make their message more attractive to its hearers. Christians hold that there is going to be “the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Hebrews 6:2b; cf. Acts 17:31), so by proclaiming there is going to be “no resurrection” means “no judgment,” and no corresponding “condemnation” for humans after they

There is no doubt that “this heresy of Hymenaeus and Philetus ... had ramifications for human If there is no future resurrection and judgment for all humans, then one could live an ungodly and unrighteous life without any fear of one day experiencing a future

We already know that this heretical teaching involves “godless chatter” and “those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly” (2 Timothy 2:16, We also know it was spiritually lethal to the Christian community. Paul metaphorically likens this teaching to the spreading of “gangrene” Gangrene spreads and eats away at healthy flesh and can cause certain physical death if left untreated. Paul implies that this false teaching will eat away at the spiritual life of the Church and will cause certain “spiritual if left untreated. Thus, a Christian’s present and final “salvation is at here if they begin to follow this false teaching.

Tragically, this gangrenous teaching has already lead to the destruction of “the personal of “some” in the Church The present-tense verb for destroying/overthrowing “indicates that this was actually happening at the time the letter was being Some refers to members of the church, hence, ‘some Christians,’ ‘some “Hymenaeus and Philetus are leading others into (i.e., “are causing some people to stop believing in through their godless and gangrenous

Jude warns his readers against the peril of apostasy that constantly confronts them in the insidious activities of apostate teachers among them. In his description of apostates “who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4b, and whose wicked careers and just condemnation “were long beforehand marked out” (v.4a, by Enoch (vv. 14, 15) and others in ancient times, Jude declares that they are “trees without fruit—twice dead, uprooted” (v.12, cf. John 15:1–6).

Some have explained the description “twice dead” to mean only that the false teachers are beyond redemption and their present spiritual death is certain to culminate in “the second death” in the world to come. But they have imagined a vain thing. Such interpretation is mere conjecture for which there is no warrant whatever. Jude’s language is explicit. The word apothanonta (“dead”) is an aorist participle, rather than an adjective, and the verbal aspect of the participle must not be overlooked. Jude’s description, literally, is “twice having died.” It is concerned with the past, rather than the future.

The tragic circ*mstance, “twice dead,” is the lot of men who, having once “passed out of death into life” through faith in Jesus Christ, have turned back (in unbelief) to walk no more with Him, so becoming “dead in trespasses and in sins” once again. “Twice dead” can only refer to the fact that men who once were alive in Christ have again, “by ... apostasy from the true become “spiritually by severing their union with Him “who is our life.” Furthermore, Jude refers to the specific occasion and cause of their spiritual death: “For they lived like Cain did, rushed headlong into Balaam’s error to make a profit, and destroyed themselves 2nd aorist indicative middle, killed themselves], as happened in Korah’s rebellion” (v.11,

Like Korah and his company of old, who denied the unique authority of Moses and profanely usurped the functions of the ordained priesthood, the apostates whom Jude cites denied the unique authority of the one Mediator and the finality of His Gospel, as defined by Jesus and the apostles. From Jude’s comments, it is evident their defection had its origin and development in their love of lascivious living and their practical repudiation of the implications of the lordship of Christ over the personal lives of all who would be His. They were therefore “without fruit” (cf. John 15:1–5; 2Peter 1:8 ff.), and as the inevitable outcome, they were plucked up by the roots (cf. John 15:2, 6) and became “wandering stars” (contra. Revelation 1:16, 20). Despite their inward spiritual defection, they still retained their outward affiliation with the believers, continuing to enjoy places of prominence and leadership. Through their spiritual defection, they had become men who had “secretly slipped” (v.4, into positions of undeserved influence and honor. (To assume that Jude meant in verse 4 that they had originally entered the church on the strength of empty professions that were false from the beginning and that they never had been other than mere hypocrites is to contradict the historical examples he cites—the apostates in the wilderness [v.5] and the angels who kept not their first estate [v.6, to deny his assertion that they “killed themselves” in their rebellion against the Lord after the example of Korah [v.11] and are now “twice dead.” Furthermore, to adopt such an assumption is to nullify Jude’s urgent warning to believers to beware the peril of following the same tragic course as the apostates [vv. 20, 21].)

Contrary to the opinions of some, Hebrews 6:4–6 is no mere hypothesis, but a reference to actual instances of apostasy. Despite the unfortunate renderings of the Authorized Version and certain contemporary translators, no conditional particle is present in the Greek text. The writer simply says who have fallen away” (second aorist-active participle). There is nothing in either the language or the context to indicate that the instances of apostasy cited in Hebrews 6:4–6 are only hypothetical. This fact is accurately reflected in the rendering of the American Standard Version (1901): “For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away....” The instances of apostasy cited by the writer are real, rather than imaginary and

Some appeal to verse 9 (“But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak” to contend that such apostasy cannot actually But they fail to reckon with the transition from the third person (“those, they, them”) in verses 4–6 to the second person (“you”) in verse 9. The writer is “persuaded better things of but not of While he is persuaded that “you” have not as yet apostatized, he declares that “they” indeed have done so. Instead of assuming that the apostasy that engulfed “them” cannot overtake “you,” the writer holds “them” up before “you” as a tragic example for their solemn warning and proceeds earnestly to exhort his readers, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (vv. 11–12,

The writer cites the example of Abraham (vv. 13–15), who, “after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise” cf. 11:8–16). He exhorts his readers, after the example of Abraham, to continue to count on the faithfulness of the promise and oath of God, who cannot lie, “that...we who have fled for refuge [may keep on having, hina with present subjunctive, durative] strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (v.18). That hope is an anchor of the soul, securely fastened within the veil where Jesus, our High Priest, now appears on our behalf. It only remains for us to hold fast to the anchor of hope. “Let us [keep on holding] the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us [keep on holding] our confession.... Let us therefore [keep on [with confidence] to the throne of grace, that we may [receive] mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:14, 16, Robertson comments: “In point of fact, our anchor with its two chains of God’s promise and oath has laid hold of Jesus within the veil. It will hold fast. All we need to do is to be true to him as he is to

Faith and Perseverance (Eerdmans: 1958), 96.

1958: 97–99.

1958: 121.

1958: 110 f., italics his.

1958: 122. Cf. The Canons of the Synod of Fifth Head of Doctrine, Article XI.

1958: 220.

1958: 233, 239.

1958: 199.

real root of confusion for Calvinists is their failure to recognize that the certainty of election and perseverance is with respect, not to particular individual men unconditionally, but rather with respect to the the corporate body of all who, through living faith, are in union with Christ, the true Elect and the Living Covenant between God and all who trust in Him. See our discussion in chapters 11 and 28.

1958: 219 f., 222, italics his.

clear instance of actual apostasy believer becoming an was discussed from 2 Peter 2 in chapter 8.

(2010: 544) notes “‘Blood’ stand for life (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11, 14; Deuteronomy 12:23). So Paul is saying that if any of the elders fail to attain eternal life because of apostasy, he’ll not be responsible.” Paul will not be responsible because he did not fail to proclaim to them “the whole counsel of God” that is also identified as his proclamation of “the kingdom of God” (v. 25), and “the word of his [God’s] grace” (v. 32).

present-tense imperative verb better translated: “Always keep watch,” conveys that Paul is wanting the elders to do so constantly Bock 2007: 629).

present-tense infinitive means to shepherd continually” (Bock 2007: 630).

verb diastrephō means turn aside from the right path, to pervert, (Thayer 142). Cf. “to cause to depart from an accepted standard of oral or spiritual values, make crooked, (BDAG 237). The verb is found twice in Acts 13:8, 10 about a “magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus” (13:6; also called “Elymas,” v. 8), who “opposed” Saul/Paul and Barnabus when they came to speak “the word of God” to Sergius Paulus (vv. 6–8). This false prophet was “seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith” (v. 8, But Paul said to him in v. 10, “O son of the devil full of all deceit and all villainy, enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?” Paul proceeds to blind the false prophet (v. 11), and “When the proconsul saw what happened, he believed. He was amazed at the teaching of the Lord” (v. 12, This false prophet was trying to turn away the proconsul from “the faith” (equivalent to: “the word of God”/“the teaching of the Lord”), by speaking in a manner that perverted “the straight ways of the Lord.” The content of “the faith” or “word of God” proclaimed by Paul/Barnabus was certainly along the same lines proclaimed earlier from the apostle Peter on

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes (lit. “believing,” in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:38–43)

the words “of the truth” are not in the Greek text but inserted by the translators, they adequately convey what the false teachers are doing. However, based on the previous footnote above, we would suggest that “Speaking perversions of ... the faith or the word of God’s would contextually be more satisfying. With “the faith” or “word of God” being perverted in Acts 13, and the parallel “the word of his grace” (Acts 20:32; cf. “the gospel of God’s grace” v. 24 proclaimed by Paul) which has the power to build up the elders, (and which, no doubt, they were to build up God’s sheep with), we find either of these a slightly better insertion to make in translation.

“disciple” “are all those who confess Jesus as the Messiah, Christians” (Thayer 386).

calls on the elders to be constantly alert (present imperative)” (Bock 2007: 631). Cf. “be always on the alert!” watch! ... [B]e vigilant and awake—a call pregnant with meaning to the shepherds when the wolves are about to break in upon the flock, and the destroyers of the sheep are to arise from among these very shepherds themselves” (Stier 1869: 331). can lead “to apostasy” (Clarke 1837: 1:855).

confirm and increase your faith, love, holiness” (Wesley 1818: 344), “as opposed to being torn down by perversions that end in apostasy” (Gundry 2010: 545).

(1984: 5:393) says “This is one of several extensive passages in the New Testament foretelling the ... apostasy” that will take place in the developing “historical church.”

Osborne (2019: 368) notes, “There were three synonymous terms for the pastoral office—elder, overseer, pastor.”

of God’s flock “have a double duty: to feed the sheep (by teaching the truth) and to protect them from wolves (by warning of error)” (Stott 1990: 328).

2007: 195. So Osborne 2019: 369; Gundry 2010: 544; Bruce 1988: 393.

2007: 1029. So Aubert 2009: 283; Garland 2017: 212; Lampe 1973: 255. Gundry (2010: 544) says “Paul tells why the elder should take precaution for themselves and for all the flock, not leaving out anybody in the church. The reason has to do with the possibility of apostasy, and therefore of exclusion from eternal life, through the influence of false teachers.” Paul predicts more than just “the possibility of apostasy,” but the actuality of it taking place.

(2019: 370) says,

This prophecy was fulfilled in four stages. First what is called the Colossian heresy began about three years after this event (AD 61) and spread to other parts of the province (Col 2:4, 8, 20). Second, in the Pastoral Letters (1 Tim 1:18–20; 4:1–3; 2 Tim 2:14–19; 3:1–9), false teachers had gained some control over Ephesus and other parts of the province (AD 64–65). Third, in the Johannine Letters (1 John 2:18–19; 4:1–6; 2 John 7–11), false teachers were even more in control (early 80s). Fourth, in Revelation 2:1–7; 18–29, false teachers like the Nicolaitans and Jezebel created havoc for the church. One could say the province of Asia became the epicenter of false teaching for the early church.

2012a: 143. your own group (Acts 20:30) indicates that Paul believed that some of these elders whom he had trained would not persevere” (Keener 2020: 506–507). In this warning, Paul depicts “an unfaithful bishop [elder], who has become a wolf instead of a shepherd, and has turned from being a guide and fosterer [i.e., carer] of the flock, to be a misleader and destroyer. The two chief characteristics are a perverted speaking instead of wholesome teaching, and an egotistical seeking after a peculiar body of adherents” (Stier 1869: 330–331). Thus, the urgent need to “keep watch over themselves, and only then over the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made them responsible. For they cannot care adequately for others if they neglect the care ... of their own souls” (Stott 1990: 326).

NET footnote is helpful is saying, “These perversions of the truth refer to the kinds of threats that would undermine repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. v. 21).”

1973: 255. Cf. Meyer 1889: 392.

Keener 2020: 506.

Matthew 1:21; Luke 19:10; Acts 3:15; 4:12; 10:43; 13:23–26, 38–39; 15:11; 16:31; 20:21; 26:17–18; John 3:15–18, 36; 6:35, 48–58; 8:12; 10:27–29; 12:25–26, 47; 14:6; 15:1–8; Romans 5:9–10; 10:9–13; 1 Corinthians 1:18–21; 1 Timothy 1:15; Hebrews 5:9; 7:25; 9:28.

1866: 374; Kretzmann 1921: 639; cf. Lampe 1973: 255. “One fang or false doctrine may cause faith to bleed to death” (Lenski 1934: 851).

just as wolves kill sheep—hence ‘dangerous’ and ‘not sparing the flock’—so will the false teachers kill their duped followers’ chance of eternal life by perverting the gospel” (Gundry 2010: 544). False teachers “murder the souls” of those who “accept [their] false doctrine” (Kretzmann 1921: 639; cf. Lenski 1934: 852). If the elders pervert the message of God’s grace, rather than being built up by it (v. 32), they will no longer be among God’s holy people (made holy “by faith” in Jesus, see Acts 26:18) who will be given an “inheritance” that the word of His grace promises. This is a reference to “final salvation” (Krodel 1986: 391) with God and His holy people in His Holy City/Kingdom (Revelation 21–22; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 1:14; 5:3–6; Hebrews 9:15; 1Peter 1:4. Thus, “admission to the kingdom of God” (Robinson 401; Bloomfield 220; Strong’s 2101; cf. Thayer 349; Barnes 1856: 397; Lechler 1866: 375) or salvation (as the inheritance of God’s children)” (BDAG 548) is at stake in this passage for the elders and the believing community they are left in charge to feed and protect.

1988: 393 and fn. 68 that cites references found in brackets here. Luke’s “inclusion of the warning in Acts 20” would have put his readers on high alert regarding the “dangerous teachers situated within the Christian community that lead believers away from apostolic faith” (Oropeza 2012a: 143).

instructions to Timothy to combat the false teachers in Ephesus had a goal that correlates to verses 18–20: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5,

is to engage in a “military campaign” against these false teachers (Kuruvilla 2021: 36).

is present tense verb which means “The Christian must continuously be holding ... both faith and a good conscience in order to go forward in his life for Christ” (Outlaw 1990: 196–197).

translations have “the faith” rather than “their faith” But A. T. Robertson, WP 4:566 notes that “the article [‘the’ is] here used as a possessive pronoun, a common Greek idiom” and better translated as “their faith” Knight 1992: 110; Oropeza 2012a: 267). That personal faith or trust is being referred to here is supported by the structuring of 1:19 (we follow the structure of Kuruvilla 2021: 36. So Oropeza 2012a: 267, fn. 33, who is following Ellis, “Apostasy and Perseverance,” 69–70).

A faith (Timothy is to be “holding”)

B conscience (Timothy is to be

B′ conscience (false teachers’ are “rejecting”)

A′ faith (false teachers’ have made “shipwreck”)

Marshall 1999: 411; Towner 2006: 157; Robertson, WP 4:566; Knight 1992: 109; Barnes 1873: 124; Kretzmann 1922: 374; Fee 1988: 58; Outlaw 1990: 196.

& Rae 2006: 27–28.

2009: 39–40. “[A] good conscience ... [is] one that controls the entire conduct of man in accordance with the will of God” (Kretzmann 1922: 374). A good conscience is informed by the Spirit of God working through the Word of God to conform the people of God into the image of God through affirming in their conscience that they are living in obedience to the will of God.

2013: 45. “Proper conduct in good conscience expresses faith and supports it” (Fiore 2009: 52). Thus, a bad conscience that results in improper conduct that is contrary to the will of God would be a sign of “unbelief” for Paul Van Ossterzee 1868: 25; Wolf 1897: 22).

Oropeza 2012a: 268, who is following Towner 2006: 119.

2009: 40. Holding on to faith and a good conscience “will prevent Timothy himself being endangered, when he opposes the false teachers” (Trebilco & Rae 2006: 28).

1963: 58. Verse 19 “is a warning to Timothy” to keep his faith and a good conscience (Kuruvilla 2021: 36).

1990: 197.

2012a: 266. Oropeza notes that the verb is in the “middle” voice, which “conveys ‘thrust away from oneself’; cf. Arichea and Hatton, 41” (2012a: 266, fn. 28). Thayer 70: “to thrust away from one’s self, to drive away from one’s self, i.e. to repudiate, reject,

Mounce 2000: 67.

1899: 35. So Wolf 1897: 22; Vincent 4:215.

1897: 22.

1992: 109.

1897: 22.

1873: 125. It can be said that unbelief can lead to a sinful life and a “sinful life leads to unbelief” (Van Ossterzee 1868: 27, quoting Heubner).

1897: 22–23.

2012a: 268.

1999: 412.

2006: 209, fn. 133. Marshall (1999: 411) says verse 19 is a “description of apostasy” (cf. Kuruvilla 2021: 36–37). “Apostasy is ... associated with their rendering their consciences ineffective (1:19a), and this is typified with behavior that runs contrary to godliness (cf. 1 Tim 4:1–3; Titus 1:14)” (Oropeza 2012a: 268). For them to have shipwrecked their faith is to have “apostatized from the life of God” (co*ke 1803: 2:569). “Here is another case of apostasy, given expressly as a warning to Timothy” (J. Wallace 1855: 109). Paul warns Timothy “against unfaithfulness and apostasy” (Kretzmann 1922: 374).

1937: 533. So Quinn & Wacker 2000: 154, 155; Wolf 1897: 22. Van Ossterzee (1868: 25) “through the defilement of a good conscience, some have lost not only this, but also the faith which they before possessed.”

1856: 424. “Indeed, none can make shipwreck of faith who never had faith” (Benson 1856: 424; cf. Marshall 1969: 128). “It is likely [Hymenaeus and Philetus] were [once] believers.... [T]hese false teachers had rejected a good conscience, and had been shipwrecked in regard to their faith (1:19), again suggesting an apostasy from the faith they once embraced” (Kuruvilla 2021: 36–37).

2012a: 268.

& Wacker 2000: 155; Fiore 2009: 49, 53; Outlaw 1990: 197; Oropeza 2012a: 306.

Ossterzee 1868: 26. “The apostle mentions the names of two men whose terrible example should act as a deterrent to all lukewarm Christians” (Kretzmann 1922: 374).

NRSV have “upsetting” the faith of some. Oropeza says this “is not a strong enough connotation for The word refers to breaking down doors 1.69.2) and sinking ships (cf. LSJ, 124); Ellis, “Apostasy and Perseverance,” 86, correctly notices the parallel between this passage and being shipwrecked in 1 Timothy 1:19 (2012b: 270, fn. 43).

‘faith,’ is articular, it means personal faith, as the addition of ... ‘of some,’ clarifies” (W. Mounce 2000: 528). “Indefinite ‘of some,’ indicates that some but not all of the Christians were affected in this way,” i.e., experiencing the destroying of “their personal belief” (Knight 1992: 414, emphasis added).

is safe to assume that this is the same false teacher, Hymenaeus, talked about in 1 Timothy 1:19–20 Oropeza 2012a: 270, fn. 44 and others).

and Philetus would no doubt be among “the some” who “having departed from (1 Tim. 1:6a), “love from a pure heart and good conscience and sincere faith,” (v. 5) and “turned-aside into worthless-talk” (v. 6b; cf. 2 Tim. 2:14–17). “These false teachers had been Christian believers” (Laansma 2009: 173).

& Wacker 2000: 682.

writer of Hebrews says “the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Hebrews 6:2b) is a “foundation” of Christian teaching (Hebrews 6:1).

& Wacker 2000: 683.

2014: 110.

Spencer 2014: 110.

(1999: 751) says the future tense of “will spread” “describes the possible effect if the false teaching is not stopped.” However, Paul goes on to affirm “the danger is real, not just a possibility!” when he brings up how Hymenaeus and Philetus have departed from the truth by teaching the resurrection is past (Marshall 1999: 751). The false teaching here “does not ruin people immediately but it is very dangerous” since it “does not contain the truth.” Such teaching “leads people astray and could ultimately lead to the shipwreck of their faith (1 Tim 1:19)” (Trebilco, Cardus, & Rae 2009: 67). This gangrenous teaching “threatens the most fatal consequences,” which is “eternal death” for those listening to it (co*ke 1803: 2:604). Gangrene “if left unchecked ... would be fatal to the church” (Hiebert 1958: 71).

2014: 109.

Cardus, & Rae 2009: 67; cf. Fee 1988: 257; Towner 2006: 516. This gangrenous teaching “spreads, and eventually results in people losing, not gaining, their salvation” (Spencer 2014: 109). Their “pernicious teachings, will or destroy the souls of men as ... gangrene destroys the body by spreading its virus through the system” (Binney & Steele 1879: 581).

Mounce 2000: 528; Outlaw 1990: 329; Quinn & Wacker 2000: 679; cf. Knight 1992: 414.

the saddest side of this story is also the most dangerous—as they wander from the truth, they take other immature or weak believers with them” (Towner 1994: 183).

& Hatton 1996: 209–210, emphasis added.

2010: 854.

& Hatton 1996: 209–210. Marshall (1999: 755) says “some people may be tempted to give up their faith” due to “the false teaching” of Timothy’s “opponents.” But “some” Christians have already given up their faith, and others will be tempted to do the same since the false teachers are still active in Ephesus.

sees their false “teaching ... contributing to apostasy” (Oropeza 2012a: 308).

1837: 2:954. So Benson 1856: 690; Oropeza 2012b: 168–169. “Stier: ‘... now these persons, having received the grace of regeneration, have died a second time (2 Peter 2:20). This is the second death in guilt and punishment’” (Fronmüller 1867: 22). These former Christians “have relapsed and apostatized into the death of sin ... and because by their sins they have incurred the second (Fronmüller 1867: 23, but this comment was provided by J. Isidor Mombert). “They were at one time spiritually dead and then became spiritually alive as believers, but because of immoral living they have died again spiritually, becoming lifeless trees rooted out of any union with Christ” (Oropeza 2012b: 168–169). Oropeza holds this interpretation on “twice dead” “tentatively” but having the most plausibility out of the interpretive options.

1803: 2:906.

were originally created by God holy and good—“exalted beings given the privilege of ministering in the presence of [a holy] God,” but some of them wind up rebelling against God according to 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 (Charles 1997: 165). Therefore, “the problem of apostasy is not hypothetical in 2 Peter” or Jude—“it is precisely because the [good] angels did in fact rebel ... that apostasy is a real possibility” (Charles 1997: 167).”

says “based on the syntactical structure of this passage, it is best to interpret the participle ‘have fallen away’] not as a hypothetical possibility but as something that indeed has taken place” by a person in “the covenant community” (2019: 163). Unfortunately, he denies that the text answers whether those who fell away “were truly saved” (Ibid). Of course, we would conclude just the opposite from the language used by the author. Those who have “committed apostasy” (v. 6a, are “those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age” (4–5, We agree with Osborne (2007: 112) that “it is nearly impossible to regulate these descriptions to non-Christians.” Furthermore, “we must say there is no more powerful or detailed description of the true Christian in the New Testament” (Osborne 2015: 283).

(1958: 117 ff.) asserts that Hebrews 6:4–6 is not a warning against apostasy, but rather a warning against the peril of imagining that apostasy is possible. Thus, according to Berkouwer, the passage is not a warning against the danger of apostasy, but only a grand assurance that there is no such danger. In the course of five pages of argument from presupposition, Berkouwer makes several attempts (all abortive) to reconcile his ingenious interpretation with the obvious fact that, after all, the passage is a warning. He writes: “So there is an earnest warning against this possibility that could invade the thinking of the church [the peril of imagining that apostasy is actually possible]. Over against this there stands the radical ‘impossible’ [the impossibility of a transition from life to death, as well as of a recovery from death to life] by which, consoled and admonished, they are guided on the only road. This passage from Hebrews 6 lets us see especially clearly how far the Scriptures are removed from every view of the Church which would eliminate the tension of faith and admonition” (1958: 120).

But just how does the writer to the Hebrews expect to augment “the tension of faith and admonition” by persuading his readers that there is not the slightest possibility of apostasy? This, Berkouwer does not trouble himself to explain.

Furthermore, if this passage were only a warning against imagining that apostasy is possible (as Berkouwer asserts), then it would be completely contrary to the spirit and purpose of all the many “alarming admonitions”that plainly warn that apostasy is an actual possibility and a deadly peril—admonitions with which, as Berkouwer declares, “the whole gospel must abound ... it has to speak thus, because perseverance is not something that is merely handed down but it is something that comes to realization only in the path of (p. 110 f.). If other “alarming admonitions” warn believers against apostasy as an actual peril, what moral right has the writer to the Hebrews to attempt (as Berkouwer contends) to persuade his readers that apostasy is not an actual peril, but is rather an absolute impossibility? Men who approach the Bible with the presuppositions of Calvinism invariably become entangled in confusion and blatant contradictions, which are an offense both to common sense and (what is worse) to the testimony of the holy Scriptures.

subjunctive, durative.

WP 5:379.

TWENTY-SEVEN

We Cannot Serve Two Masters

There are but two possible reasons why any man on earth is unsaved. Either he has not heard the Gospel, or he is unwilling to accept the condition of repentance and faith whereby the Gospel of Christ may become for him, personally, “the power of God for salvation.”

Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach “in his name to all the nations” “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47). There can be no forgiveness without repentance. Paul testified “both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). One cannot believe in Christ as his Savior from sin apart from repentance toward God. God “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), and He is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2Peter 3:9, People cannot share His life everlasting apart from repentance toward Him.

“We will not have this man to reign over us!” Such is the attitude of all men who deliberately reject the Gospel. Men refuse Christ for one reason alone: they want to be “free”—free of the lordship of Christ, free of divine restraint, and free of all holy obligation. They are, indeed. But they are also free of the forgiveness of sins, free of saving grace, and free of eternal life and all prospect of heaven. Every man is “free”—either of the dominion of Christ and the prospect of heaven, or of the dominion of sin and the prospect of hell.

Every man is likewise a servant—either of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom of righteousness, or of the devil and the tyranny of sin. There is no middle ground. “Whoever is not with me” said Jesus, “is against me” (Matthew 12:30). Men who would be free of the tyranny of sin must accept the lordship of Christ over their personal lives. He who said, “Come to me,” “and I will give you rest,” said also, “Take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:28–29). No man can find rest for his soul in Christ who does not take His yoke upon him. “No one can serve two masters,” said Jesus. “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). There are but two masters. Every man must serve one; no man can serve both. Every man faces the question, Who is to be my master? His answer determines, for him, all the issues of time and eternity.

If Christ is to be Savior and Lord, a definite decision must be made. A tragic failure of many pastors and churches is the failure to confront men with the necessity of making a definite decision for Christ. Preaching that fails to confront hearers with the Person and claims of Christ in such a manner that decision becomes mandatory is altogether too vague and nebulous to accomplish the purpose of Him who is pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save “the ones trusting” (1Corinthians 1:21, McReynolds).

There is a sense, of course, in which no man is without a personal decision with respect to Christ. “He who is not with me is against me.” There is no “middle road.” The decision, for every man, is no until he makes it If Christ is to be Savior and Lord, the choice must be made—definitely and deliberately. And it must be made with a sense of finality. One cannot receive Christ as one’s personal Savior and Lord without a sincere intention to trust and follow Him always, through life into eternity. Any “faith in Christ” is completely insincere apart from such intention.

It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the choice of Christ as Savior and Lord can or must be made but once. Marriage is supposedly “until death do us part.” No one has a right to enter into marriage with any other intention. But unless the vows exchanged at the altar are continually reaffirmed and implemented in deed and life, the inner spiritual essence of marriage will perish and the outward form most likely will be terminated by something other than death.

The commitment of oneself to Christ in accepting Him as Savior and Lord is the necessary starting point. But the initial decision must be reaffirmed and implemented in the life that follows. We must continue to choose between the lordship of Christ and the dominion of sin. It never becomes true that we may somehow serve both God and money. James asks, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). We cannot negotiate a special arrangement whereby we may serve two masters. God is a jealous God. Christ cannot be the Lord of men who do not give Him their true allegiance. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). The “Christian” who fancies that he can carry water on both shoulders and get along well enough by “doing his bit” for God while hobnobbing with the devil is cherishing a fatal delusion.

John “commands (present to “stop loving the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him. For everything that is in the world—the desire or ‘lust,’ for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God’s will remains forever” (1John 2:15–17,

Notice the contrasting elements in verse 17: loving the world and its desires versus doing the will of God; the world and its desires fading away versus the person doing the will of God who remains A more literal translation of verse 17 reveals that John is talking about eternal destiny here for believers who are doing the will of God (i.e., not loving the world and its desires/lusts): “And the world is passing away and the lust of it, but the one doing the will of God remains into the age” (1John 2:17, Doing is “a present active participle” that “characterizes” the believer “as actively engaged in doing God’s will rather than pursuing the fleeting lusts of the This doing God’s will “links the believer with the eternal”—he or she “remains forever” “lives forever” “will live eternally,” Burdick 1985: 190); or “literally” remains/lives “into the This is “the coming eternal age of God’s into which believers are ushered upon the return of Christ: “when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1John 3:2b–3, God’s people cannot love both God and worldly desires, because “loving the world leads to falling away from God, the most serious thing that can happen to a

Jesus came into the world to “save His people from their sins.” Many seem to wish somehow to be “His people,” but they do not quite desire to be saved from their sins. They wish only to be saved from the consequences of their sins. Any “salvation” that does not save a person from their sins, as well as from sin’s consequences, is a delusion. “His people” “walk by the Spirit” so as not “to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). “His people” “make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (Romans 13:14). “His people” are “abstaining from fleshly desires which wage-war against the soul” (1Peter 2:11, One cannot be a member of “His people” while giving allegiance to the world, the flesh, and the devil.

John insists, “The person who says, ‘I have come to know him,’ but does not continually keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth has no place in that person. But whoever continually keeps his commandments is the kind of person in whom God’s love has truly been perfected. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: The one who says that he abides in him must live the same way he himself lived” (1John 2:4–6, For unless he sincerely endeavors to “live the same way he himself lived,” his profession of faith is vain pretense whereby he deceives—perhaps most of all—himself! (Consider the deadly possibility cited in 1John 2:9–11; James 1:22, 26.) It is vain for one to speak of his faith in Christ as Savior who is not definitely committed to the lordship of Christ and positively opposing sinful desires in his personal life.

The writer to the Hebrews bids his readers to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (3:13). David feared the peril of tolerating sin. Consider his prayer in Psalm 19: “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression” (vv. 12–13). Delitzsch comments:

[David] prays for forgiveness in respect of the many sins of infirmity—though for the most part unperceived by him—to which even the pardoned one succumbs.... No one can discern his faults, on account of the heart of man being unfathomable and on account of the disguise, oftentimes so plausible, and the subtlety of sin. Hence, as an inference, follows the prayer: pronounce me free also [of] all those sins which even he who is most earnestly striving after sanctification does not discern, although he may desire to know them, by reason of the ever limited nature of his knowledge both of himself and of sin.... The prayer for justification is followed in ver. 13 by the prayer for sanctification, and indeed for preservation against deliberate sins.... Presumptious sins, when they are repeated, become dominant sins which . . . enslave the man ... hence the last member of the climax . . . : let them not have dominion over me.... Then, when Thou bestowest this twofold favour upon me, the favour of pardon and the grace of preservation, shall I be blameless... from great

According to Delitzsch, the Hebrew word rendered “great transgression” means “to spread out, go beyond the bounds, break through, trespass,” and is “a collective name for deliberate and reigning, dominant sin, which breaks through man’s relation of favour with God, and consequently casts him out of favour,—in one word, for As the climax of prolonged striving against the reproof of the Spirit, it is possible that one might consciously and deliberately discard the yoke of Christ through a single act of rebellion, to end the conflict. But it is much more likely that final obstinance should be arrived at imperceptibly and that the Spirit should quietly abandon His striving without the man’s being aware of His departure. Samson “did not know that the had departed from him” (Judges 16:20, John cites the tragic circ*mstance of the man who “says he is in the light,” but “walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1John 2:9, 11). On his way to hell, he still imagines himself to be on the way to heaven. He still professes faith, and all seems well to him. He is quite unaware of his apostasy.

Spiritual hardening through the deceitfulness of sin, which can lead to outright apostasy (Hebrews 3:12–13), is hardly likely to come about as an immediate cataclysm. There is little likelihood that a believer suddenly should recoil from true devotion and trust and, shaking his fist in the face of Christ, exclaim, “Depart from me! I no longer wish You to be my Savior and Lord!” The real peril is that the believer may gradually become increasingly tolerant of sin until he begins to excuse himself for his sins, no longer confessing and seeking forgiveness and cleansing, and ignoring the patient rebukes of the Holy Spirit. If he continues to quench Him and to refuse His faithful reproof, his prolonged obstinance ultimately leads to “insult[ing] the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29, The words “has trampled the Son of God underfoot” seems descriptive of a catastrophic act of deliberate repudiation. But context indicates that it is the aggregate effect of an extended pattern of willful sinning. The present-active participle hamartanontōn (v.26) indicates persistent sinning rather than a single act. The warning in Hebrews 10:26 ff. is not against an isolated act of rebellion, but against habitual, deliberate sinning that ultimately constitutes a repudiation of the Savior, shameful indifference toward the holy blood of the covenant, and a spurning of the Holy Spirit’s gracious ministry of guidance and reproof.

Context indicates that “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (10:25, while not necessarily an indication of actual apostasy as yet, at least is a symptom of perilous drifting and an invitation to spiritual disaster. The Christian who prefers to absent himself from the worship services of his church obviously has little interest in the Kingdom of Christ and feels no need for spiritual encouragement. He is in the process of surrendering “the good fight of faith.” Final surrender occurs imperceptibly. The person still imagines himself to be a Christian, but he only deceives himself—a subtle peril against which the Bible warns frequently and urgently. Millions of “Christians,” satisfied with their “Christian experience” (all in the past) and complacent in their indifference toward Christ and His Church, are in desperate need of examining themselves to see whether they are in the faith (2Corinthians 13:5). The love of the world and its desires is the path of compromise. It ends in spiritual disaster.

Friend in Christ, we shall be foolish, indeed, if we assume that the warnings in God’s holy Word against the peril of apostasy do not apply to us and that we need not concern ourselves with the possibility of turning away from our love for God by loving the world and its desires. We cannot serve two masters.

1985: 188.

1991: 104; cf. Burdick 1985: 181. Robertson, WP 6:214–215 has “The one who keeps on doing ... the will of God ‘abides forever’....”

1991: 104. Jesus said, “The one eating this bread will live into the age!” (John 6:58b, “if anyone keeps My word, he shall by no means see death into the age!” (John 8:51, “I am the Resurrection and the Life! The one believing in Me, even if he dies, he will live! And every[one] living and believing in Me shall by no means die into the age!” (John 11:25–26,

1991: 104. “[T]hose who do God’s will remain forever, for they are participants in eternal mode of existence characteristic of life with God” (John Thomas 2004: 121, emphasis added). Cf. Olsson 2013: 138; Witherington 2006: 480; Kretzmann 1922: 563; Weidner 1897: 293. Thayer 399, “of him who becomes partaker of the true and everlasting life ... 1 John 2:17.” “The Greek menō ... emphasizes the permanence of the believer’s relationship with God, extending from this world into the next” (Thatcher 2006: 446). “Thus we Christians must never forget that our faith will bear the fruit of a Christian conduct, of true brotherly love, and of denial of the world and its lusts” (Kretzmann 1922: 563).

like James, insists that saving faith must be functional in daily life” (Hiebert 1991: 104).

2013: 137; cf. 138. Believers find themselves in a sinful world, “a world that contains desires that if followed would cause apostasy” (Jensen 2012: 106).

Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms, 1:288 f.

1:289.

TWENTY-EIGHT

The Destiny of Those Loving God

And we know that for those who love God [lit. “the ones loving God,” all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in [“union with,” Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28–39)

Romans 8:29–30 has often been called “an unbreakable chain”—foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification. For the elect, it is, indeed, an unbreakable chain, and only the elect are comprehended in Paul’s affirmation (v.33). The calling, justification, and glorification constitute the implementation of the predestination (conformity to the image of the Son) that God purposed for the elect. For them, calling and justification will issue in ultimate glorification, in accordance with the eternal purpose of God “in bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), the glory of full conformity to the image of His Son. But there is nothing about Paul’s affirmation that establishes that election is unconditional or that all who experience calling and justification are necessarily eternally elect and will inevitably persevere. Certainly, it is true that the elect (who are foreknown to God) will persevere. But that is only half the truth, for it is equally true that they who persevere are elect. The latter solemn truth is presented in the holy Scriptures, not as the inevitable outcome of some inexorable divine decree with respect to specific individuals unconditionally, but as a matter for the constant concern and holy endeavor of believers.

The certainty of election and perseverance is with respect, not to particular individual men unconditionally, but rather with respect to the Church the corporate body of all who, through living faith, are in union with Christ, the true Elect and the Living Covenant between God and all who trust in His righteous Servant (Isaiah 42:1–7; 49:1–12; 52:13–53:12; 61:1–2). Consider the following:

God’s eternal purpose in grace:

Ephesians He chose us in Christ that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

Colossians He reconciled us to Himself in Christ, through His death, to present us holy and blameless before Him.

Fulfillment corporately (certain):

Ephesians Christ will present the Church to Himself holy and

Fulfillment individually (contingent):

Colossians He will present us holy and blameless before Him—if we continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel.

To assume that eternal glory is the inevitable terminus of “an unbreakable chain” for everyone who once experiences saving grace is to ignore the explicit warnings, not only elsewhere in the Scriptures, but here in Colossians 1:23. Indeed, Paul warns believers prior to Romans 8:28, “So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (8:12–13, Paul goes on to write:

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for [i.e., being glorified with Christ—our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption and glorification of our body]. (Romans 8:16–25, emphasis added)

Let not vain assumptions concerning the meaning of such passages as Romans 8:29–30 destroy our concern for heeding the many warnings and exhortations to persevere in the faith. God will present believers holy and blameless before Him only if we continue in personal faith and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel. God will redeem and glorify the physical body of believers only if they are willing to suffer with God’s Son and if they persevere in faith while eagerly awaiting their final adoption at Christ’s

Romans 8:28ff. is speaking to believers collectively or corporately about the glorious destiny that God has predestined for “Paul stresses the use of the plural and collective terms such as ‘those,’ ‘many,’ and so forth to refer to the Christians in This body of believers is identified as “those [plural] who are loving God” (Wuest; cf. Williams: “those who keep on loving “Paul puts the phrase ‘to those loving God’ first so that there will be no mistake about who are involved in ‘God works all things together for good.’ It is for those who continually express love for God both in attitude and Ben Witherington says,

Normally, Paul talks about God loving us, but not here. Here he is talking about the Spirit-empowered believer who loves God. The passage all the way through to the end of Rom. 8 is intended as a reassurance to Christians that God’s power and providence is working for their good, and working on and in them, and indeed is in charge of “all things” such that the Christian doesn’t need to worry about Satan, or circ*mstances, or illness, or other persons separating one from God and his [predestined] plan in due course to make the believer fully conformed to the image of Christ finally by means of resurrection, but already now internally and progressively by means of sanctification (so 2Corinthians

The discussion here is not about how one becomes a person who loves God, how a person becomes saved, how a person becomes a believer. It is about the destiny and destination of those who are already in Christ. This is especially clear because the relative pronoun οὓς “those whom”], which occurs in both verse 29 and verse 30, has as its sole antecedent “those who love God,” not “those who are one day destined to love God,” not “those who were chosen before the foundation of the universe.” The text quite plainly tells us that God foreknew “those who love God” and [pre]destined them in advance for a glorious conformity to the image of his Son. This text then has nothing to do with the notion that God arbitrarily plucked some persons out of the mass of unredeemed humanity to be justified or saved in the first

“The function of this material in Romans 8 is ... to tell the story of the glorious destiny of those who are already as a means of reassuring the audience that they are in God’s able hands and that God’s purpose is to see that they reach the intended destiny God had in mind from all eternity” despite present sufferings and hardships that could tempt them to lose hope of ever reaching final salvation with God in a glorified resurrected “The purpose of this passage is to make clear that nothing external can prevent Christians from reaching the goal of glorification. God is involved at every stage of the process, ensuring its We agree with Witherington:

To suggest that in Romans 8 Paul has a different concept of election from the group notion of election enunciated in Romans 9–11, applied first to Israel after the flesh and then to those in Christ, is not convincing.

In this manner, God does not deal with Christians, including Paul, any differently than God dealt with Israel “according to the flesh.” Paul’s warning in 11:21 to Gentile Christians that they could be broken off from the elect group is more than an idle threat. Paul believes that one is eternally secure only when one is securely in eternity. Short of that, one has the possibility ... of committing apostasy and being excluded from the eternal The glorious benediction in Romans 8:35–39 is meant to reassure believers that no outside force, not even supernatural ones, can separate the believer from Christ’s love against their will. What Paul does not include in his listing in 8:35–39 is the individual himself or herself, who may indeed commit apostasy—hence all Paul’s warnings and urgings about faithfulness and

While this passage is about giving assurance to “Christians in Rome that no Emperor, or governor, nor any celestial power, nor any human circ*mstance” can separate believers from God’s love, which they enjoy in union with Christ, it is definitely not an affirmation of unconditional eternal

Why not? There are a variety of reasons, but the most important one is this—the heart of any relationship with God is love. It is the great commandment—“you shall love the Lord your God with all your being!” But love, unlike some things in life, cannot be predetermined, coerced, or manipulated. It must be freely given and freely received or else it is not love. God, as a text like Hos. 11 has already shown us, is a great lover, a great wooer of human beings to be his people. And that love must be freely received, and freely requited. In short, God gives humans and angelic beings a modicum of grace and freedom to freely return his love. Call it prevenient grace, call it the work of the Spirit enabling a person to respond to God’s wooing, but here’s the crucial grace does not work like a magnet does on iron filings. God is courting persons, not doing a science experiment as he calls and chooses people. God’s grace enables our response, but it is not irresistible. Like other gifts of God, the recipient must freely exercise the gift that is given for it to be

Finally, it should have been abundantly clear from a close look at the language of “foreknowing,” which is found not only in Romans 8 but also in Romans 9–11, that God’s knowing of something in advance does not mean that God has caused that something to happen in advance. That God works all things together for good for those that love God does not mean all those things are good in or that God has willed them all. God is not the author of sin and evil in the OT or in the NT. He is the Holy One who neither tempts nor can be tempted by anyone (see James 1).

God’s knowledge is based on not only his own willing and actions but his absolutely omniscient knowing of the willing and actions of all other beings in the universe. God knew in advance who would love him before they did and planned a wonderful redemptive future for them, including final conformity to the image of his Son by means of resurrection. And that indeed will be glorious.

God reveals enough about our future to give us hope and great expectations, but not so much that we do not have to live by faith every day. But God has assured believers who trust God day after day that no outside person or force or circ*mstance or tragedy or disease can separate them from his love. We have absolute assurance that for those who remain “in Christ” the future is as bright as the promises of God.

We do not need, and we have no right to demand, that God guarantee our eternal security come what may, and do what we will. That would be to demand that we should not have to live by

It would also demand that we should not have to live by a faith that expresses itself in love for God and others as Paul emphasizes (Galatians 5:6; cf. Galatians 5:13–25; 6:1–3; James 2; 2Peter 1:5–11). Paul never suggested that the grace-enabled response of faith and love toward God is optional for believers to reach final salvation with God in His Kingdom.

We have already noted in an earlier chapter that Paul’s understanding of saving faith was not of the moderate Calvinist type (i.e., one moment of faith eternally secures the believers final salvation even if they later on become an unbeliever). We saw that an ongoing and living trust in Christ crucified, resurrected, and coming again is necessary to obtain final salvation. But note how Paul, paraphrasing a passage from Isaiah 64, describes the future and final destiny of those loving

Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those [plural] who love him. (1Corinthians 2:9,

The “things” God has prepared for those who are “loving Him” are, as Meyer writes, “the salvation of the Messianic kingdom. Comp Matthew This is confirmed when we find Jesus saying in the gospel of Matthew: “Then the King will say to those [plural] on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Jesus said those on the right, “the righteous [plural]” will go “into eternal life” (v.46b) while those on the left will go “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v.41), and “go away into eternal punishment” (v. 46a).

Not only will the “righteous” (believers collectively) experience eternal life in the Kingdom God has prepared for them, but according to James, so will believers who keep on loving God:

Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those [plural] who love [ISV: on him (James 1:12, CSB, emphasis

Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those [plural] who keep on loving has he not? (James 2:5, emphasis added).

The verb for “loving” is a present-tense verb in the plural and “portrays a group characterized as loving The “blessed” person is promised this “crown of life” because they are “united with those identified by their continuing love for Their love for God is the outcome of their faith in him which produces willing endurance for him Commentators note the phrase “the crown of is in Greek “a genitive of definition indicating in this context: ‘the crown that consists in eternal This “life” is nothing less than “eternal since it is the opposite of “death” “eternal death”) for persisting in sin

All Christians who have persevered in faith and who keep on loving God will receive this promise of being metaphorically “crowned” with “eternal life” at the end of their pilgrimage of faith through the various trials of That this is a reference to experiencing “final with God is confirmed by comparing the promise in James 2:5 to “those who [keep on loving] Those (the poor) who have “faith” are “heirs of the kingdom.” Hiebert (1979: 141) writes,

Being an heir is ... through a personal relationship with the Ruler of the kingdom. This is the only mention of “the kingdom” in the epistle, but the concept would be familiar to the readers. The reference here is to the eschatological [i.e., future and final] Kingdom. Christ inaugurated His Kingdom during His first advent, and He now rules in the hearts and lives of those who have accepted Him as their Sovereign. But the Kingdom in its full manifestation is still future, awaiting the return of the King in glory (Matthew 25:31; 1Cor. 15:50–54; 2Tim. 4:1; Titus 2:11–13).

Jesus, as both King and Messiah, is the “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2), and in a “spiritual sense, believers are described as heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Galatians 4:7; Romans 8:17; 1Pe. As an heir, followers of the Messiah inherit or receive “as a life (Matthew 19:29; 25:46; Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25; 18:18; Titus 3:7; 1Peter and salvation (Hebrews 1:14) in the world to come (Romans 4:13; cf. 2Peter 3:13; Revelation which entails “receiving admission to the kingdom of (Matthew 25:34; 1Corinthians 6:9, 10; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; James 2:5; Revelaton 21:7; cf. Revelation 21:27; 22:14–15, 18–19). All these divine promises find their “supreme spiritual fulfillment in the person and work of Christ the Messiah in the new covenant This new covenant age is the Messianic salvation experienced in the Messiah’s Kingdom, under the Messiah’s rule—the new heaven and new earth, the Holy City described in Revelation 21 and

The heirs (plural) are those who have faith and are characterized as those who keep on loving With the same characterization occurring in 1:12 in connection with the promise of being metaphorically crowned with life eternal, James understands receiving the promise of “eternal life” and “the kingdom” as “practically synonymous expressions, both relating to the eschatological James assures believers who are persevering in faith and in loving God through the trials of life that they have a glorious future destiny promised to them—eternal life in the Kingdom of

We have strong encouragement in the hour of our own present trials and sufferings from Paul and James. We have the assurance that “all things go on working together for the good of those who keep on loving (Romans 8:28 Williams, emphasis added). We have the assurance that an eternal purpose of God is at work to issue in the ultimate glorification (full conformity to the image of His Son via a glorified and resurrected body at Christ’s return) of all who keep on loving Him (vv. 29–30). We have the encouragement of Paul’s argument (vv. 31–39) that, since God is for us and Christ intercedes for us, no external power or circ*mstance can separate us from the love of God experienced in union with Christ. James likewise encourages and assures believers who persevere in faith and keep on loving God through the various trials encountered in life that they will receive the promise of eternal life in God’s future and final Kingdom. But these precious promises and assurances are intended, not to mitigate the sharp warning in Romans 8:12–13, or the parallel warning in James 1:14–16, but to encourage us to “keep on gloriously conquering through Him who loved us” (v.37,

The power for spiritual conquest is not of ourselves, but in a living union with Christ. It is the Lord that loved us. It is His living person that acts in us. For it is He, Himself, in His love who sustains

“Without Me,” said Jesus, “you can do nothing” (John 15:5, But “I can do all things,” wrote Paul, “through Christ who strengthens [empowers] me” (Philippians 4:13, “Christ is living in me,” he wrote, “and I live by trusting God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself up on my behalf” (Galatians The power for conquering is freely available to everyone loving and trusting in the Savior.

We find a fitting conclusion to this chapter in the comments B.J. Oropeza provides on Romans 8:28–39, and its surrounding

Paul’s “encouraging words” in Romans 8 occur in “a context in which Christian suffering is the issue.” Paul is seeking to comfort and encourage the believing community to persevere through various sufferings until God brings final redemption to their bodies and the entire cosmos (8:16–26). Paul uses plurals (“the elect,” “those who love God,” etc.) to “identify the community of believers in Christ, not individuals per se.” “God foreknew and predestined them to ‘be conformed to the image of God’s son’ (8:29–30), which anticipates their future resurrection.” It is “the church” / “the elect community” that is in union with Christ who is assured of being “glorified” or experiencing “final salvation” in God’s presence. Therefore, no amount of suffering, persecution, hardships, demonic powers, or other “external forces” can “wrench those who are ‘in Christ’ from the love God and Christ have for them.” This should instill confidence and assurance among believers, but not over confidence or any sort of unconditional assurance in light of what Paul communicates elsewhere in Romans. Paul does not guarantee that every individual believer will persevere in faith to final salvation regardless if

they fall into unbelief, disobedience, or immoral behavior. Such a meaning can only be maintained at the expense of other Pauline thoughts in Romans that suggest the possibility of believers committing sin and apostasy with spiritual death as the end result (cf. 8:13; 11:20–22; 14:10–12, 13, 15, 20–21, 23; cf. 2:6–16; 6:16). Romans 8:28–39 does not affirm that a believer can turn from faith, commit idolatry, or live according to the lusts and the “flesh” and still expect to never be separated from God and Christ. Paul focuses on conflicts related to human suffering. Hardships and hostile forces such as human persecutors of the church, hunger, nakedness, Satan, and his minions do not have the power to sever the relationship between God and his elect. Most likely he does not wish to include vices or unbelief to the list of hardship and opposing forces in 8:35–39 because, based on what he writes elsewhere in this letter, such things can undermine salvation, and it would be rhetorically counterproductive to include caveats and conditions at this point when his objective in this passage is to encourage the

For Paul,

the individual is elect by participating in the elect community “in Christ,” and the assurances of final salvation given to that community pertain to the individual as long as that individual is identified as belonging to the elect If Paul is consistent here with what he teaches elsewhere, the “no condemnation” (8:1, 29–39) the elect community will experience in the age to come does not pertain to individuals who fall away from being “in Christ” in the present age (e.g., Rom 8:13; 11:20–22; 14:15; Gal 5:2–4; 1 Cor 5:5; 10:12; etc.).

While Paul affirms “the election of God’s people is entirely by grace, this does nullify the requisite for individuals to exercise the obedience of faith [1:5; 6:16–18; 16:26],” which is enabled by divine grace as well. Just as Israel’s election did not prevent individual Israelites from committing apostasy, so God’s

election, foreknowledge, predestination, and perseverance of the community in Christ does not preclude the possibility of individual believers committing apostasy [i.e., becoming unbelievers] and falling into spiritual Nevertheless, each individual congregant hearing Paul’s encouraging words in 8:28–39 would still be able to take comfort in God’s love for them personally. Such a person could maintain confidence in their final salvation so long as that individual remained “in Christ.” Individuals have no claim to the salvific promises given to the Christ-community without actually being part of it and remaining in

Walls and Joseph Dongell rightly call into question the Calvinist “unbreakable chain” interpretation of this passage based on the warnings Paul gives specifically to Christians in Romans 8:13 and 11:20–22 I Am Not a 2004: 79–81).

holds that Christians must (by faith) “suffer with” Christ in order to be finally “glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). Paul exhorted new believers to “continue in the faith” and “saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Glorification (final conformity to the image of the Son) and entrance into the Kingdom of God takes place at the Second Coming of Christ, where those in union with Christ (1 Cor. 15:21–23) are resurrected into an “imperishable” body—“raised in glory”—so that “we shall also bear the image of [Christ] the man of heaven” (vv. 42–49). Being “raised imperishable” is necessary in order to “inherit” or enter “the kingdom of God,” which is “imperishable” (vv. 50–53). Only then will death be “swallowed up in victory” by “God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 54–57). Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 15 and in Romans 8 complements what Paul says in Philippians 3: “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (vv. 10–11). “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait [cf. Rom. 8:25] for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity Rom. 8:29; cf. 1 Cor. 15:49] with His glorious body by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (vv. 20–21, emphasis added). Final glorification or conformity to the image of Christ and His glorious, resurrected body will take place at Christ’s return for believers in union with Christ who keep on loving God, who are (by faith) eagerly awaiting Christ’s return, and willing to suffer for and with Christ.

emphasis lies on Christians corporately and on the ultimate goals God has prepared for those who are his own. Paul’s concern in predestination is not how people become Christians nor who become Christians, but to describe what God has foreordained on behalf of those who are (or will Christians” (Klein 1990: 184–185; cf. Greathouse & Lyons 2008: 1:270, 274; Mickelsen 1962: 546). “Paul always uses the term ‘elect’ to refer to those who are already members of God’s people.... [H]e employs it to remind those who have answered God’s call [in the gospel] that they are members of God’s covenant people” (Witherington 2019: 362). The “body of Christ, the church, is destined to eternal glory ... and all hell shall not prevent it, such having been foreordained from all eternity. All that is said in the NT regarding predestination refers to this eventual triumph of the redeemed ‘in Christ’.... The predestined are those found ‘in Christ’” (Coffman 1984: 6:304).

2000: 207.

present-tense participle for “loving” describes these people as having “this quality and character.... Of course, this their love is born of their faith” (Lenski 1936: 550–551). The promise of being conformed to the image of the Son (via a bodily resurrection) is for the believing community “who perseveringly love God” (co*ke 1803: 2:92).

1962: 546, emphasis added. “Love for God is more than an emotional response—it is the devotion of one’s total personality to God (Matt 22:37–38, citing Deut 6:4–5).... Adam Clarke notes that those who love God are those ‘who live in the spirit of (Greathouse & Lyons 2008: 1:273). “It goes without saying that loving him entails obeying him (see Deuteronomy 6, especially verse 5)” (Gundry 2010: 601).

conformation to Christ refers not only to the final transformation to occur at Christ’s return, but also to the lifelong process of change that God effects in the lives of believers. God determined that those in the foreknown group would become like Christ” (Klein 1990: 185). Klein says, “This explanation is supported, among others, by” Cranfield, Kӓsemann, Dunn, and Hendriksen (1990: 185, fn. 67). Forlines (1987: 238) and Osborne (2004: 222) would be supporters as well. We agree with Klein, “The weight of the context of Ro 8 argues for a present as well as future application. Theologians call this process sanctification” (Ibid.).

2019: 391. “In other words, this is not about being chosen to be but being destined as saved to conformity to Christ” (Witherington 1994: 231, emphasis added).

1994: 231, emphasis added. “Paul’s concern is with believers who are looking forward to the ‘redemption of the body’ but are tempted to despair of ever reaching the goal because of present sufferings” (Marshall 1969: 102).

1994: 247, emphasis added. “Paul’s central concern is to affirm ... [that] God leads us step-by-step toward glorification” (Greathouse & Lyons 2008: 1:277).

... does not deny that one-time believers may through unbelief be cut off from the community of salvation (see 11:20–23) and so forfeit ... their future glorification” (Greathouse & Lyons 2008: 1:277).

1994: 232. “Thus we conclude that Rom. 8:28ff.... makes clear (a) that salvation begins and depends upon a divine initiative; (b) that salvation could not transpire unless God planned, led, enabled, and supported believers through every stage of their working out of their salvation; and (c) that no third force can separate believers from God. This text does not, however, rule out either that believers must respond in faith willingly to the divine initiative or that they may at some future date apostasize (i.e., separate themselves from God)” (Witherington 1994: 247–248).

2019: 392. “‘In Christ’ is absolute security, the only mortal concern of the Christian having to do, not with any doubt or uncertainty of final glory, but only with his being “in Christ” and remaining so” (Coffman 1984: 6:305).

2019: 392.

1884: 51. Garland (2003a: 98) says “the future blessing of heaven.” Godbey 1898: 46 “the sweet, rich and unearthly things of the heavenly kingdom, the transcendent glories of the ‘coming age,’ the ... unutterable realities of spiritual life, immortality and ineffable glory.”

349 “to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom.” So BDAG 547; Eichler, NIDNTT 2:295–303; Friedrich, EDNT 2:298–299; Cremer 360–361; Abbott-Smith 448–449; Robinson 401.

who has stood the test in faith (Jas. 1:12) will receive eternal life as the victor’s crown” (Haarbeck, NIDNTT 3:809); cf. Thayer 155, where dokimos is used “in the NT [of] one who is of tried faith and integrity.”

“to the ones loving Him,” INT90, INT94, DLNT.

1979: 85. “Another description of persevering believers is that they love the Lord (1:12). James uses a present participle ‘loving’]) to describe such ongoing love of God in action” (Spencer 2020: 75).

1979: 85, emphasis added.

2009: 89–90. Others see “the crown of life” = “eternal life”: Adamson 1976: 68; Alford 1872: 754; Benson 1856: 581; Binney & Steele 1879: 628; Blomberg & Kamell 2008: 66; Davids 1982: 80; Gundry 2010: 920; P. Harrison 1992: 20; Hiebert 1979: 83; Jobes 2011: 167–168; LABC 1992: 21; Mayor 1910: 49; Moo 1985: 70–71; Nystrom 1997: 72; Osborne 2011: 32; Ropes 1916: 152; Scaer 1994: 53; Spencer 2020: 74; Weidner 1897: 30; Wolff 1969: 21; Witherington 2007: 433.

320; Bloomfield 171; Hemer, NIDNTT 1:406; Mounce’s 148–149; CBL-GED 13:36; Davids, EDT 288; Rea, WBD 407; cf. BDAG 430–431; Thayer 273–274; Abbott-Smith 196–197.

chapter 24 for our full discussion on James 1:14–16.

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect [plural] and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—in the hope of eternal which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:1–2, emphasis added). “As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. Now this is the promise that he himself made to us [plural]: eternal (1 John 2:24–25, emphasis added).

Biblical Greek ... zōē is understood eschatologically as an inheritance in the Kingdom of God or as an equivalent ... to final salvation.... In the NT zōē is nothing less than salvation, and when it is qualified by the epithet aiōnois ([‘eternal,’ or better] belonging to the Age to come), its fullness and finality is to the fore—as also in the expressions .... the ‘crown of [life] (Jam 1:12; Rev 2:10)” (Turner 1982: 486, 487; cf. Travis 2009: 161).

with “loving” in James 1:12, the present-tense participle in 2:5 refers to an “ongoing love for God” (McCartney 2009: 142).

485.

548; cf. Cremer 360.

the end, all persevering believers shall be ‘heirs together of the grace of [life] (1 Pet 3:7)” (Turner 1982: 487).

the promise to Abraham or to his descendants [lit. ‘seed,’ that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13, NASB). Forlines (1987: 110) says, “This verse introduces an important thought. It refers to Abraham and his seed as promised heirs of the world. This must be very important because he continues to speak of the ‘heirs’ in v. 14 and the ‘promise’ in vv. 14–16. The question is, What is the ‘world’?” We agree with Forlines 1987: 112–114 that this promise “is one for the eschatological future. It is a promise which necessarily involves the resurrection of the body. It is a promise of eternal life. That is the eschatological future of the redeemed” in a renovated “‘new earth’ referred to in Rev. 21:1” and “received on the condition of faith.” Cf. “‘Heir’ of the world.... [means] future possessor of it by means of inheritance. It is at present not a fit possession, being filthy with sin; it will be fit when God makes it ‘a new earth’ as John saw it in Rev. 21:1. After it has been cleansed, Abraham will enter upon his inheritance, as will all his seed through him as their father” (Lenski 1936: 310). “The best explanation seems to be the future eternal kingdom of God which will be established with its earthly phase in a regenerated world where all the redeemed will possess an inheritance” (Hamilton 1958: 72). Heir of the world “implies believers’ future occupation in redeemed bodies of a world delivered from the bondage of corruption (see 8:18–25, where the world is called ‘the creation’)” (Gundry 2010: 584).

401. So Bloomfield 220, Strong’s 2101. Similarly stated: Abbott-Smith 249; BDAG 548; Cremer 359–361; Renn 517–518.

485.

inheritance is the kingdom of God” or “the new world in which God reigns alone and supreme” (Foerster, TDNT 3:782).

1979: 141–142.

coveys the same promises to the one overcoming (i.e., the one remaining faithful to Jesus to the point of death amidst trials and persecutions, see Revelation 2:10–11; 21–22).

meaning here [in v. 37] is: ‘We are in the process of winning [or conquering].’ In the external pressures of life we can be gaining the victory through the one who loved us. We are winning not through our own strength ... but through Christ” (Mickelsen 1962: 548).

1882: 123.

by deSilva 2018: 212.

Oropeza 2012a: 166 f.

TWENTY-NINE

Kept by the Power of God

“I’d like to be a Christian. But what’s the use? I know I couldn’t last.” How often do we hear such statements! Many, acutely aware of the weakness of the flesh, honestly fear that perseverance in the Christian life is beyond their poor human powers. And, indeed, it is. But there is a sublime truth that many fail to recognize: Christ does not ask us to “go it alone” as His followers. He has promised to be with His own all the days, even to the end of the age. Surrounding and sustaining all who follow Him in obedient faith is His infinite grace and all the power of almighty God!

The purposes of God in the salvation of men encompass the unending ages of eternity to come. To the Colossians (1:21–22, Paul writes that they who in time past were alienated from God by hostility and wicked works now have become “reconciled ... by his physical body through death” in order that Christ may “present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him” in His everlasting holy presence.

Paul had perfect confidence in the keeping grace of God. Knowing that he was near the end of his pilgrimage and warfare, he wrote to Timothy, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom” (2Timothy 4:18).

Jude addresses his letter “‘to the called, who have been kept for Christ;’ namely, in order to belong to Him in time and in In his closing doxology (vv. 24–25), he writes, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling [or “falling,” and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.

Peter writes of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1Peter What a precious heritage! Nor is this the whole of the wondrous truth. Peter declares in the same sentence that we are “kept by the power of God unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (v.5, What a glorious word! An everlasting heritage, to be revealed in the last time, is now reserved in heaven for us who, by the mighty power of God, are kept for that heritage.

But did you notice that, in our quotation of 1Peter 1:5, two words were omitted? Only two words; but quite essential. And yet, many seem to omit them—if not in quoting, at least in comprehension. The words? “Through faith!” Peter declares that we are “kept by the power of God through The words do not seem to register in the minds of many, but we can ill afford to ignore the essential condition governing the keeping grace of God. As Robert Picirilli notes: “God’s keeping of us is conditioned on our faith—as is His salvation of us in the first place. The condition of remaining saved is the same as the condition of becoming saved: not works but Scot McKnight (1996: 71) rightly states, “no biblical author guarantees final salvation apart from faith.”

Writing to the Colossians of God’s purpose to present holy and unblemished and blameless in His presence those whom He has reconciled to Himself through the death of His Son, Paul is faithful to warn the believers at Colossae that God’s purpose can finally be realized in them only “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel” (Colossians 1:23, Bishop Moule comments:

But that prospect ... is only yours an emphatic “if” you are abiding by your holding fast to that great secret, simplest reliance on the all-sufficient Saviour, and on no substitute for Him; founded as on the Rock, and steady in the resolve to rest there for ever; and not yielding to movements a present participle, indicating a chronic liability to disturbance) away from the (the blessed hope of the Lord’s Return for the final salvation of His waiting and faithful ones,) the hope of the Gospel which you heard when you were first

Paul’s confidence that “the Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom” was the confidence of one who could say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2Timothy 4:7) and who, in his letter, faithfully exhorts the pastor of the church at Ephesus to “continue in what you have learned ... the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (3:14–15).

While the short epistle of Jude begins and ends on a sublime note of the keeping power of God, in between are numerous sharp warnings of the peril and tragedy of apostasy. In his brief summary of the epistle of Jude, A.T. Pierson writes:

It is a warning against Faith makes faithful saints who, contending for the faith and preserving, are preserved by Grace and presented in Glory. The contrast is marked between those who kept not their first estate and are kept for judgment, and those who keep themselves and are kept from falling. Apostasy is presented in representative examples: who turn gracious liberty into lascivious license; unbelieving Israel in the Exodus; disobedient angels; lustful Sodomites; self-righteous Cain; greedy Balaam; presumptious Korah; and blasphemous All of us are either reserved for the Day of Condemnation, or preserved for the Day of Presentation. If we keep ourselves in the Love of God, fighting for the faith, building up ourselves upon the faith, praying in the Holy Ghost and looking for the coming of the Lord, God will keep us (guard as with a

Jude, who assures us of the keeping grace of God, warns that there is a corresponding responsibility resting on us. Having cited actual instances of apostasy, both historical and contemporary, Jude turns from a consideration of apostates who “cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit” (v.19) to address an urgent warning to his readers: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (vv. 20–21). Concerning Jude’s exhortation, “keep yourselves,” Robertson comments on “First aorist active imperative (of urgency) of In verse 1 they are said to be kept, but note the warning in verse 5 from the angels who did not keep their

The keeping grace of God is a precious fact. But the Scriptures reveal there is a prerequisite “keeping” that is the responsibility of believers. Both are in view in principle in our Lord’s exhortation, “Remain in Me, and I in you.” Many places in the Scriptures, God’s keeping and a Christian’s keeping are closely associated. In addition to the above example from Jude, consider the following:

1.Jesus declared to the church at Philadelphia (Revelation 3): “you have kept my word and have not denied my name.... Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world” (vv. 8, 10).

2.First John 5:18 contains a precious reference to the keeping grace of Christ: “We know that no one who is born of God makes a practice of sinning, but the Son who was born of God continues to keep him” (Williams; cf. But close by is the admonition, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (v.21, and John already had warned his dear children in the faith to beware the peril of apostasy arising through the enticements of the “many antichrists” who were attempting to “seduce” them and to lead them away from the Gospel they had heard from the beginning (2:18–26,

3.Paul writes to the Thessalonians of his confidence that God will be faithful to “sanctify you [plural] completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:23–24), and he prays (3:11–13) that God may “establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” But he does not assume there is no corresponding responsibility resting upon the Thessalonians themselves. Quite to the contrary, he expresses his deep concern that they (by faith) be “standing fast in the Lord” (3:1–10).

4.Paul, who had suffered much as an apostle and preacher of the Gospel, was not ashamed; for he was fully confident that He whom he had believed, and for whom he gladly had suffered, “is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2Timothy 1:12, But his expression of sublime confidence in the keeping grace of God is immediately followed by an urgent admonition to Timothy: “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us” (vv. 13–14, The guarding of the Gospel committed to him was, for Timothy, more than merely his obligation as a minister; it was essential to his own salvation. Continuing in the true Gospel, though evil men and seducers grew worse and worse—deceiving others and themselves more and more, Timothy would continue “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (3:13–15). By continuing in the true doctrine Timothy would save both himself and all who heard and heeded him (4:16).

5.In his prayer of intercession just before His passion, Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.... I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:11, 15, Some assert it is impossible that any who once believe on Jesus should subsequently become lost, since God must answer the prayer of His Son. But Jesus prayed for those who sent Him to the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Are we to assume that, because Jesus so prayed, all the members of the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, Judas, the soldiers, and all the mocking multitude were forgiven, simply because Jesus prayed for them? Are we to assume that the whole lot were immediately destined for salvation, simply because Jesus prayed for them? Jesus prayed aloud at the grave of Lazarus for the benefit “of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:42). Are we to assume that all who heard His prayer and for whom He prayed were necessarily persuaded that He was indeed sent of God? Obviously not. It is evident from John’s account that, while many of the Jews who witnessed the raising of Lazarus trusted in Jesus, others did not.

Certainly there is nothing ineffectual about the keeping grace of the Father; it is infinite. But neither was there anything lacking in the keeping power of Jesus, who said, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12, Those whom the Father gave Him Jesus kept—except one. Neither the Father nor the Son can keep those who do not wish to accept the conditions under which they may be kept. It is not, as some assert, a question of whether humans are “stronger than God.” Nor is it a question of what God could do. It is only a question of what God does do, as revealed in the holy Scriptures. The Scriptures declare that believers are free to apostatize from God, and they are solemnly warned against so doing (Hebrews 3:12). Jesus said of those whom He kept, “they have kept your word” (John 17:6). This is of more than incidental significance, as we may discern from the promise (and warning) of Jesus, “If anyone keeps My word, he shall by no means see death into the age” (John 8:51, “Keeping His word” is more than a momentary reception; it must be habitual, after the example of Jesus Himself, who said He knows the Father “and I keep his word” (v.55). Jesus said: “The one who is holding onto My commandments and is keeping them, that one is the one who is loving Me; now the one who is loving Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love them and I will reveal Myself to them.... If anyone is loving Me they will keep My word, and My Father will love them and We will come to them and We will make a dwelling place with him.... As the Father loved Me, I have also loved you; remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and am remaining in His love” (John 14:21, 23; 15:9–10, Thornhill). Those who keep are kept.

6.The writer to the Hebrews bids us to “keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (13:5). If anything can foster contentment in any circ*mstance, it is the promise that the Lord will not forsake His own. But shortly before his reminder of the Lord’s promise not to forsake His own, the writer had warned his readers, “See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven” (12:25). Throughout his letter, he had warned his readers many times against the dreadful peril of forsaking the Lord, a peril that constantly confronted them.

The Old Testament passage from which the writer to the Hebrews quotes the Lord’s promise not to forsake His own (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8) contains the Lord’s solemn warning that when the children of Israel forsake Him and break His covenant, His anger will be kindled against them, and He will forsake them (vv. 16 ff. Cf. 1Chronicles 28:9; 2Chronicles 15:2; Psalm 9:10; Ezra 8:22). The peril is never that the Lord may forsake His people, but rather, that His people may forsake Him. “If we deny him,” warns Paul, “he also will deny us” (2Timothy 2:12). “Remain in me, and I will remain in you” (John 15:4,

7.Those whom Peter exhorts to “entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1Peter 4:19), he yet admonishes to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (5:8–9). He already had admonished them, as pilgrims and strangers on earth, to “to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (2:11). God’s faithful keeping of our souls does not negate our responsibility to “keep [ourselves] in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 21). Our keeping ourselves in His love, in faithful anticipation of the mercy of our Savior that leads to eternal life, is prerequisite to His safekeeping of our souls. We can trust Christ to save us, and we can trust Him to keep us, but we must trust Him.

8.Let us consider again 1Peter 1:5. Peter declares that it is “through faith” that we are “kept by the power of God unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” Immediately following his reference to the necessity of faith as the condition whereby we are kept by the power of God unto final salvation, Peter encourages us to stand firm in our present trials and testings (vv. 6–9). He declares that it is on the basis of our now or in Christ (v.8) that we are now the “outcome” or “goal” of our faith, the final of our We can trust Christ to save us, and we can trust Him to keep us all the way, but we must trust Him all the way. The necessity of keeping ourselves in the saving grace of Christ is quite as much a doctrine of the holy Scriptures as the power and faithfulness of Christ to save and keep all who are trusting in

Paul commended the Thessalonians for the steadfastness of their faith, as expressed in “your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering” (2Thessalonians 1:4–5, It seems a staggering thing that there could be any sense whatever in which we—sinners that we are—could ever be accounted “worthy of the kingdom of God.” And yet our Lord declares of the few in Sardis who had not defiled their garments that “they will walk with Me in white garments, because they are worthy. The one overcoming [i.e., the ones remaining faithful to Jesus until death] will in-this-manner clothe himself in white garments. And I will never wipe-out his name from the book of life. And I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:4–5,

It is true that we can be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God and worthy to walk with Christ before the Father and His angels only by the grace of our loving Savior, who is Himself our “righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1Corinthians 1:30), even as He is our very life (Colossians 3:4). But the righteousness and the saving life of the risen Christ (Romans 5:10) cannot avail for unfaithful people. The righteousness God requires of people who are to be part of His everlasting Kingdom is “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all the ones believing” (Romans 3:22, merely for a moment, but habitually and persistently, through trials and testings. Paul was faithful to exhort his converts “to continue in the faith, saying, ‘We must enter the kingdom of God through many persecutions’” (Acts 14:22, actual realization of “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Peter 1:11), the final salvation that now must be anticipated by a living faith in our living Savior.

The Christian life is a life of spiritual warfare, and all who would be forever Christ’s must necessarily “be fighting the good fight of faith” and continually “take-hold-of the eternal life” (1Timothy 6:12, in the conflict against “the schemes of the devil ... [and] the cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Ephesians 6:11–12), and against “the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1Peter 2:11).

Jesus warned the church at Pergamum: “I will wage war against” (Revelation 2:16, those who are the teaching of Balaam,” that mislead some believers “to eat foods-sacrificed-to-idols and to commit-sexual-immorality” (2:14, For others in the church, Jesus affirmed, “you are My name” (2:13b, and “you have not denied your faith in me” even after “Antipas, my faithful witness ... was killed in your city” (2:13c,

To be holding on to “My name” “is a way of saying that someone is being true to the nameholder,” “that they have been faithful to Our Nameholder, Jesus, is described as “the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth” “who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood” (Revelation 1:5, Jesus, as the faithful witness, expects faithfulness from His followers. Those who “Remain faithful even to the point of death” will receive from Jesus “the ‘crown’ which consists in eternal (Revelation 2:10,

By engaging in idolatry and immorality some believers were being unfaithful to Jesus. Hence, He commands them to “repent,” which entails an arresting warning to Christians: “If you persist in your unfaithfulness to Me, you will become My enemy whom I will have to ‘wage war against’ (v.16, You will no longer be considered ‘My son’ (21:7), but identified with the ‘unfaithful the ‘sexually immoral,’ and the ‘idolaters’ who will forever be excluded from My presence and My people” (21:8; 22:15). According to Jesus, who and what you are holding-on-to will determine your eternal destiny.

Sometime ago, a young father shared the burdens of his heart with me as we talked together in the quiet of my study. He had known recent bereavement, and he was passing through deep waters of ill health, loss of income, and mounting expense. Never shall I forget his words. After a moment’s quiet, he looked up and calmly said, “But those nail-pierced Hands are mine. They’re holding me fast.”

Above the doorway of his Pastor’s College in London, Spurgeon affixed the words, “Holding, I am held.” A precious truth! But neither the first clause, nor the latter, can stand alone. They are complementary, like “keep yourselves in the love of God” and “kept for Jesus Christ,” and “kept by the power of God through faith.” Together, they comprehend the meaning of our Savior’s words, “Remain in Me, and I in you.”

So the sum of this whole matter is—abide in Christ. Let us root and ground our lives and characters in Him, and then God’s inmost desire will be gratified in regard to us, and He will bring even us stainless and blameless into the blaze of His presence. There we shall all have to stand and let that all-penetrating light search us through and through. How do we expect to be then “found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless?” There is but one way—to live in constant exercise of faith in Christ and grip Him so close and sure that the world, the flesh, and the devil cannot make us loosen our fingers. Then He will hold us up, and His great purpose, which brought Him to earth and nailed Him to the cross, will be fulfilled in us; and at last, we shall lift up voices of wondering praise “to Him who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding

“Holding, I am held.”

1881: 394.

says God’s keeping or guarding “does not mean that he will do this by means of his omnipotence but by means of his grace, mercy, Word, Spirit.” No matter what dangers are encountered in life, God is more than able to keep believers from “stumbling to a fatal fall,” but “only by willfully turning from his enabling grace can anyone be lost” (1966: 650).

three Greek adjectives modifying ‘inheritance,’ namely aphtharton (‘imperishable’), amianton (‘undefiled’), and amaranton (‘unfading’), form ... [a] triad of terms” “emphasizing permanence in contrast to transitoriness” (Elliott 2000: 335). “The Christian’s inheritance is ... a transcendent reality.” “It is ‘kept’ ... ‘in the heavens’..., that is, God’s dwelling place. See Col 1:5 for a comparable concept of ‘hope laid up for you in the heavens” (Elliott 2000: 336). Elliott says this transcendent inheritance “occurs in the later OT and Israelite writings (Dan 12:13; Pss. Sol. 14:17; 1QS CI 7) as well as in the NT, where it denotes the inheritance of ‘eternal life’ (Mark 10:17; Titus 3:7), ‘the kingdom of God’ (Matt 25:34; 1 Cor 6:9–10; Gal 5:21; Jas 2:5), ‘imperishability’ (1 Cor 15:50 [of the which perishable flesh and blood cannot “glory” (Rom 8:17–18), or the eschatological gift of salvation in general (Col 3:3; Heb 1:14)” (2000: 336).

“salvation” (1:5, 9) is equivalent to our imperishable inheritance and refers to “final salvation” (Picirilli 1992: 114; McKnight 1996: 71), or “ultimate salvation” (Keener 2021: 71) in God’s presence upon Christ’s return. Stewart (2011: 222) argues persuasively that

Salvation in 1 Peter, properly speaking, is a future event. The elements of this future, eschatological salvation, inaugurated and possessed by believers in the present on the basis of faith and the completed work of Christ, function to enable the perseverance and righteous living necessary for the reception of full and final salvation when Christ returns. The fact that salvation is still a future event functions rhetorically to motivate the perseverance and sanctification necessary to be saved in the final day.

Stewarts (2011: 235) rightly concluded after his survey of salvation in 1 Peter: “Peter presents a persevering response of faith and obedience as the necessary human response to God’s saving initiative that would surely result in final salvation.” Cf. Keener 2021: 72 “Peter requires perseverance [to experience ultimate salvation], and this perseverance occurs through believers remaining believers—that is, through continued faith rather than apostasy.”

has “through trusting;” Keener 2021: 63 “trust.” Early Christians saw “faith” as “trusting dependence” which “involves entrusting one’s life and direction to God in a relationship of mutual faithfulness dependent on God” (Keener 2021: 71; cf. Biggs 1901: 101 “It [faith] is ‘firm trust in God in spite of suffering . . .’ [quoting Kuhl, von Soden].” “In 1 Peter, ‘faith’ entails maintaining trust, loyalty, and commitment toward Jesus Christ ... [and] God [the Father]” (Elliott 2000: 340). “It is as Christians trust in God that they experience his power to protect them” (Marshall 1991: 38). God’s protective power would have been “reassuring for believers not only harassed by their neighbors (3:13–4:19) but also menaced by their arch-adversary, the Devil (5:8–9). For our author, the chief evidence of God’s power ... and the basic reason for trust is God’s raising and glorification of Jesus Christ (1:21; 3:18, 22; cf. 1:3)” (Elliott 2000: 337).

1992: 112. J. Wallace (1855: 17) rightly says of 1 Peter 1:5, “continued salvation is conditioned on continued faith.” The Greek word for “kept” v. 4) “means to watch over or guard. The perfect tense of this participle means that our inheritance was placed under guard and is still being guarded” (Reasoner 2017: 41). In verse 5, the Greek word for “kept” or “shielded,” “describes a military protection. The theological question is whether it is unconditional or conditional security. Certainly, God has the power to keep us until the end. But if that protection is appropriated through faith, are we protected if we cease to believe and abandon the faith?” (Reasoner 2017: 41). Unfortunately, a number of moderate Calvinists would say “Yes” to this question.

included “(τῇ)” after “your” in the original.

1898: 97–98, bold in original.

Keys to the 143–144, italics his. Although he succeeded admirably in presenting the gist of the epistle of Jude in his brief résumé, the godly Dr. Pierson, when contemplating other Scriptures, was not always so fully cognizant of the important truth which Jude emphasizes. For example, in The Heart of the he writes: “You ask me whether I believe in the perseverance of the saints. I tell you, no. I have no confidence in the saints and their perseverance; but I believe in the perseverance of Jesus Christ. The reason why the saints persevere in grace is because Jesus Christ perseveres in the saints.” Much to the contrary, however, Jesus affirmed that the condition whereby He perseveres in the saints is that they persevere in “Remain in Me, and I in you.... If anyone is not remaining in Me, they are ... cast into the fire” (John 15:4, 6, Thornhill).

WP 6:194. Donelson (2001: 95) writes:

God has the power to keep—to keep “us” for salvation and to keep “sinners” for punishment. The Lord has “kept [the disobedient angels] in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great day” (6).... The Lord, of course, also keeps “you” safe (1, 24). This keeping of those who are called is not, however, an absolute keeping. As the citation in verse 5 points out, “the Lord, who once for all saved a people out of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” Even though God is keeping “you,” the believer, safe now, this is a conditional keeping. If you cease to be a believer, God no longer keeps you for salvation but keeps you instead for punishment.

is [a verb] in the present continuous tense. It describes a habitual ... activity” (Stibbs & Walls 1959: 79). So Grudem 1988: 66.

translation of pisteuō in 1:8 is by Elliott 2000: 343.

2000: 344 says means ‘receive for yourselves,’ ‘obtain as a reward,’ in the NT often of eschatological recompense (cf. 2 Cor 5:10; Eph 6:8; Col 3:25; Heb 10:35; 11:13, 39).... Salvation, for 1 Peter, is thus a process of divine deliverance inquired into by the prophets (1:10–11), made know through the proclamation of the good news (1:12), ... and assured to those faithful to God and Jesus Christ (1:6–9; 2:2; 4:18; 5:2–4).”

often uses “soul” to refer “to the whole person as a living being (see 1:22; 2:11, 25; 3:30; 4:19), salvation here is comprehensive, referring to the salvation of the human person entirely (see Elliott, 1 Peter 344)” (Senior 2003: 33; cf. Davids 1990: 60).

Picirilli 1992: 117; Witherington 2007: 82. “Here Peter returns to the eschatological salvation through trust promised in 1:5” (Keener 2021: 83; cf. Davids 1990: 59–60).

New Testament calls on all who believe in Jesus Christ to persevere in belief, that is, to keep on believing. Those who know that they are God’s children and have the assurance that their sins are forgiven must go on believing and committing themselves to the saving and keeping love of Jesus” (Marshall 1995: 277).

word is Gundry translation: “keeping a grip on” (2010: 1003).

“Name,” in DLNTD 786, emphasis added.

1963: 17. So Smalley 2005: 67; Reasoner 2005: 179, 181. Most see the crown of life = eternal Aune 1997: 1:167; Beale 1999: 244; Coffman 1984: 12:55; Ford 1975: 67; Kretzmann 1922: 596; Ladd 1972: 45; R. Mounce 1997: 8–9; Morris 1987: 65; Reddish 2001: 57; Schreiner 2023: 139; Wall 1991: 73; Witherington 2003: 101; “resurrection to life ... in God’s presence” (Koester 2014: 281).

and GW translate apistos as “unfaithful” in Revelation 21:8.

Maclaren 1900: 115.

THIRTY

That You May Know That You Have Eternal Life

Sometime ago, a successful businessman of Kansas City, an earnest Christian, was greeted by his banker with the question, “What do you know for sure, Pete?” He immediately replied, “I know the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin, I’m a child of God by faith, and I’m on my way to heaven.”

Surprised and impressed by the unexpected answer, the banker exclaimed, “Wait a minute! Come into my office; I want to talk with you.” My friend had the privilege of talking at length concerning the surpassing grace of God and the glorious things He has provided for all who trust Him.

The world is hungry to know some things “for sure”—things in which people may place their confidence in a day of confusion and uncertainty. And God is even more concerned that people shall know the things He has provided, in His all-sufficient grace, for those trusting in Him. Among other things, He wants people to know that they can be sure of eternal life.

Many assert it is impossible for people to know, here and now, that they are having eternal life. According to the holy Scriptures, they are No other knowledge is nearly so important as the assurance that we are having eternal life. Thank God, we may know. But how? Certainly not by how we feel about the matter. People sometimes say, “I was a backslider for years. But all the while I was living in sin, I knew in my heart that I was still a child of God and still saved.” We would not question the sincerity of people who make such statements. But there is reason to question their spiritual intelligence and understanding. Human feeling is neither a reliable guide to divine truth, nor a safe index of one’s personal spiritual status. “Samson did not know that the Lord left him ... The heart is deceitful ... There is a way that seems right... You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked....”

How people feel about things does not determine matters. Many unsaved people say with complete sincerity, “I feel that I am all right just as I am.” Or, “I am not afraid to die.” Or, “I feel that I am just as sure of heaven as anyone in the church.” But how people feel about spiritual matters determines nothing. When we begin to determine our spiritual status and to define our doctrines by human experience, feelings, and opinions, we have embarked on a path of error, the end of which is everlasting disaster. None can feel more assured of salvation than the men and women of long ago who justified themselves in their rejection of Jesus in the confidence that “we are Abraham’s seed... we have one Father, even God.” Reliance on feeling is unwise.

Although Calvin taught that, for the elect, an important means of assurance is the inner witness of the Spirit, he also taught that the reprobate (i.e., unbelievers, the non-elect) may receive a similar inner witness, actually experiencing the grace of God to such an extent that they imagine themselves to be of the elect. But since they are not, God (as he believed) has no intention that their experience of His grace shall endure. From the outset, His intention is that they shall wither away and die. “There is nothing strange,” he writes, “in [God’s] shedding some rays of grace on the reprobate, and afterwards allowing these to be extinguished” (3:2:12). This is accomplished, according to Calvin, through “an inferior operation of the Spirit,” the whole purpose of which is “the better to convict them and leave them without excuse” (3:2:11). (To Calvin, this was in perfect accord with “the doctrine which I maintain, that the reprobate are hateful to God, and that with perfect justice, since those destitute of His Spirit cannot produce anything that does not deserve cursing” [3:24:17].)

Contending that the reprobate may respond to the Gospel, exercise faith in Christ and the mercies of God, and actually experience grace to such an extent that they sincerely believe themselves to be of the elect, Calvin wrote (3:2:11, 12):

experience shows that the reprobate are sometimes affected in a way so similar to the elect that, even in their own judgment, there is no difference between them. Hence it is not strange that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them. Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, the better to convict them and leave them without excuse, instils into their minds such a sense of his goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption.... Therefore, as God regenerates the elect only for ever by incorruptible seed, as the seed of life once sown in their hearts never perishes, so he effectually seals in them the grace of his adoption, that it may be sure and stedfast. But in this there is nothing to prevent an inferior operation of the Spirit from taking its course in the reprobate. Meanwhile, believers are taught to examine themselves carefully and humbly, lest carnal security creep in and take the place of assurance of faith. We may add that the reprobate never have any other than a confused sense of grace, laying hold of the shadow rather than the substance, because the Spirit properly seals the forgiveness of sins in the elect only, applying it by special faith to their use. Still it is correctly said that the reprobate believe God to be propitious to them, inasmuch as they accept the gift of reconcilation, though confusedly and without due discernment; not that they are partakers of the same faith or regeneration with the children of God; but because, under a covering of hypocrisy, they seem to have a principle of faith in common with them. Nor do I even deny that God illumines their minds to this extent, that they recognize his grace; but that conviction he distinguishes from the peculiar testimony which he gives to his elect in this respect, that the reprobate never obtain to the full result or to full fruition. When he shows himself propitious to them, it is not as if he had truly rescued them from death and taken them under his protection. He only gives them a manifestation of his present mercy. [Footnote: The French adds, ‘Comme par une bouffee’—as by fits and starts.] In the elect alone he [irresistibly] implants the living root of faith so that they persevere even to the end. Thus we dispose of the objection that if God truly displays his grace, it must endure for ever. There is nothing inconsistent in this with the fact of his enlightening some with a present sense of grace, which afterwards proves evanescent [i.e., vanishing like vapor].

Although faith is a knowledge of the divine favour towards us and a full persuasion of its truth, it is not strange that the sense of the divine love, which though akin to faith differs much from it, vanishes in those who are temporarily impressed. The will of God is, I confess, and his truth is always consistent with itself; but I deny that the reprobate ever advance so far as to penetrate to that secret revelation which Scripture reserves for the elect only. I therefore deny that they either understand his will considered as immutable, or steadily embrace his truth, inasmuch as they rest satisfied with an evanescent impression; just as a tree not planted deep enough may take root, but will in process of time wither away, though it may for several years not only put forth leaves and flowers, but produce fruit. In short, as by the revolt of the first man the image of God could be effaced from his mind and soul, so there is nothing strange in His shedding some rays of grace on the reprobate, and afterwards allowing these to be

Calvin recognized that his argument involved him in a serious difficulty. “Should it be objected,” he writes, “that believers have no stronger testimony to assure them of their adoption, I answer that though there is a great resemblance and affinity between the elect of God and those [i.e., the non-elect] who are impressed for a time with a fading faith, yet the elect alone have that full assurance which is extolled by Paul, and by which they are enabled to cry, Abba, Father” (3:2:11).

But Calvin’s answer in no way eliminates his difficulty. For if (as he declared) it is impossible for the unbeliever (reprobate), who thinks he is a Christian, to perceive that the inner witness of which he is conscious is not really valid, and if in his own best judgment it is impossible for him to observe any difference between himself and the true elect, and if he is completely sincere in believing God to have been propitious to him and to have given him the gift of reconciliation and in believing himself to be truly elect, how can one’s personal feeling be reliable ground for “full assurance” of salvation? Actually, according to Calvin’s argument, one cannot know whether his feeling of assurance is warranted, or only vain presumption.

Along with inner feeling, Calvin also appealed to the doctrine of election as sure ground for confidence:

Those who preclude access and would not have anyone to obtain a taste of this doctrine [election, as understood by Calvin] are equally unjust to God and men, there being no other means of humbling us as we ought, or making us feel how much we are bound to him. Nor, indeed, have we elsewhere any sure ground of confidence (3:21:1).

Advocates of the doctrine of unconditional security often assert that conditional security is contrary to the doctrine of election—meaning, of course, unconditional An extended consideration of the doctrine of election, with its many facets, is not within the scope of the present But even if one accepts Calvin’s definition of the doctrine of election, it affords no ground for the assurance of salvation. For in declaring that apart from the doctrine of election, we have no “sure ground of confidence” of salvation, Calvin did not mean that the doctrine affords such ground of confidence merely as an objective doctrine. He believed that it becomes such “sure ground of confidence” only on the basis of specific evidence of one’s personal election.

But what constitutes such evidence? Here Calvin appeals again to human feelings and definitions of individual personal experience: “In regard to the elect, we regard calling as the evidence of election, and justification as another symbol of its manifestation, until it is fully accomplished by the attainment of glory” (3:21:7).

But Calvin’s contention that one’s experience of calling and justification is reliable evidence of personal election is completely nullified by his contention that the non-elect (reprobate), as well as the true elect, sincerely believe themselves to have been called and justified. How can it be known whether one’s calling and justification are actual, or only imagined? How can it be known whether one’s experience of God’s grace is divinely intended to be permanent, or only temporary? How can it be known whether God has implanted within him “the living root of faith” that is ordained to endure, or whether his faith eventually must prove to have been only “evanescent”? Obviously, it can be known only as one finally perseveres (or fails to persevere) in faith. There is no valid assurance of election and final salvation for any person, apart from deliberate perseverance in faith. Calvin himself ultimately arrived at this conclusion. In his commentary on Hebrews 6:12, he writes:

followers, or imitators, &c. To sloth he opposes imitation; it is then the same thing as though he said that there was need of constant alacrity of mind; but it had far more weight when he reminded them that the fathers were not made partakers of the promises except through the unconquerable firmness of faith.

...

Faith and patience, &c. What is meant is a firm faith which has patience as its companion. For faith is what is chiefly required; but as many who make at first a marvelous display of faith soon fail, he shows that the true evidence of that faith which is not fleeting and evanescent is endurance.

...

when God made a promise to &c. His object was to prove that the grace of God is offered to us in vain, except we receive the promise by faith and constantly cherish it in the bosom of our

Again, commenting on Hebrews 3:6–14, Calvin writes:

the author of this epistle exhorts the Jews who had already made a profession of Christ to persevere in the faith, that they might be deemed as being in God’s household. He had said before that God’s house was subject to the authority of Christ. Suitably to this declaration is added the admonition that they would then have a place in God’s family when they obeyed Christ. But as they had already embraced the Gospel, he mentions their condition if they persevered in the faith.

...

This passage reminds us that we are always to make progress even unto death; for our whole life is as it were a race.

...

12.Take heed, (or, See) brethren, lest there be at any time in any of you a wicked heart of unbelief, &c. I have preferred to retain literally what the Apostle states, rather than to give a paraphrase as to the wicked or depraved heart of unbelief, by which he intimates that unbelief would be connected with depravity or wickedness, if after having received the knowledge of Christ they departed from his faith. For he addressed them who had been imbued with the elements of Christianity; hence he immediately added, By departing; for the sin of defection is accompanied with perfidy.

13. He also pointed out the remedy, so that they might not fall into this wickedness, and that was, to exhort one For as by nature we are inclined to evil, we have need of various helps to retain us in the fear of God. Unless our faith be now and then raised up, it will lie prostrate; unless it be warmed, it will be frozen; unless it be roused, it will grow torpid. He would have us then to stimulate one another by mutual exhortations, so that Satan may not creep into our hearts and by his fallacies draw us away from God. And this is a way of speaking that ought to be especially observed; for we fall not immediately by the first assault into this madness of striving against God; but Satan by degrees accosts us artfully by indirect means, until he holds us ensnared in his delusions. Then indeed being blinded, we break forth into open rebellion.

We must then meet this danger in due time, and it is one that is nigh us all, for nothing is more possible than to be deceived; and from this deception comes at length hardness of heart. We hence see how necessary it is for us to be roused by the incessant goads of exhortations. Nor does the Apostle give only a general precept, that all should take heed to themselves; but he would have them also to be solicitous for the salvation of every member, so that they should not suffer any of those who had been once called to perish through their neglect. And he who feels it his duty so to watch over the salvation of the whole flock as to neglect no one sheep performs in this case the office of a good shepherd.

...

we are made partakers, &c. He commends them for having begun well; but lest, under the pretext of the grace which they had obtained, they should indulge themselves in carnal security, he says that there was need of perseverance; for many having only tasted the Gospel do not think of any progress, as though they had reached the summit. Thus it is that they not only stop in the middle of their race, yea, nigh the starting-posts, but turn another way. Plausible indeed is this objection, “What can we wish more after having found Christ?” But if he is possessed by faith, we must persevere in it, so that he may be our perpetual possession. Christ, then, has given himself to be enjoyed by us on this condition, that by the same faith by which we have been admitted into a participation of him, we are to preserve so great a blessing even to

In his commentary on Acts, Calvin is excellent in his comments on Paul’s exhortation to the believers at Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (14:20–22), the gist of which is:

let not the faithful neglect the Word of God, as if the reading and preaching thereof were unnecessary; because there is no man who hath not need of continual confirmation.

exhorting them. This was the principal way to confirm, in that they provoke the disciples who had before embraced the Gospel and did profess it, to go forward by exhorting them; for we are far from being so ready and stout as we ought. Therefore our laziness needeth pricks, and our coldness must be warmed. But because God will have his exercised with divers combats, Paul and Barnabas admonish the disciples to be ready to suffer tribulation. A very necessary admonition, that we must go on warfare in this world, that we may live well and godly. If the flesh should not molest us, if Satan should attempt nothing, if the wicked should not trouble us with some stumblingblocks, it were no such troublesome thing to persevere; because that were a sweet walk through a soft and pleasant way; but because there arise on every side, and every minute of an hour, infinite assaults which provoke us to fall away, there ariseth the hardness; and therefore it is that the virtue of constancy is so rare. Therefore, to the end we may persist even unto the end, we must be prepared for war.

...

But this is the best comfort, and which is sufficient enough to confirm their minds, that this way (though it be hard and sharp) leadeth unto the kingdom of

It is evident from his writings, Calvin ultimately concluded that, in the last analysis, the only real ground for the assurance of one’s election is his deliberate perseverance in faith. Charles Hodge arrived at the same conclusion. In his comments on Romans 8:29–30, he asserts that “Election, calling, justification, and salvation are indissolubly united; and, therefore, he who has clear evidence of his being called has the same evidence of his election and final But what is the “clear evidence” of one’s call? In his concluding remarks at the close of the chapter, Hodge concedes that “The only evidence of election is effectual calling, that is, the production of holiness. And the only evidence of the genuineness of this call and the certainty of our perseverance is a patient continuance in well In other words, the only real evidence of election is perseverance, and our only assurance of the certainty of persevering is—to persevere!

John Eadie states the same conclusion. In his commentary on Colossians, his excellent comments on 1:23 include:

While... the perseverance of the saints is a prominent doctrine of Scripture and a perennial source of consolation, it is not inconsistent with exhortations to permanence of faith and warnings of the sad results of deviation and apostasy. He who stops short in the race, and does not reach the goal, cannot obtain the prize. He who abandons the refuge into which he fled for a season is swept away when the hurricane breaks upon him. The loss of faith is the knell of hope.

...

For man is not acted on mechanically by the grace of God, but his whole spiritual nature is excited to earnest prayer and anxious effort. His continuance in the faith is not the unconscious impress of an irresistible law, but the result of a diligent use of every means by which belief may be fostered and deepened.... Thus, as rational beings are wrought upon by motives, so warnings and appeals are addressed to them, and these appliances form a special feature of God’s plan of preserving them. The apostle thus shows them how much is suspended on their

All Calvinist theologians ultimately agree with Hodge, Eadie, and Calvin that the only unfailing evidence and ground for assurance that one is elect is deliberate perseverance in faith in Jesus Former professor John Murray of Westminster Theological Seminary aptly states the matter:

let us appreciate the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and recognize that we may entertain the faith of our security in Christ only as we persevere in faith and holiness to the end. It was nothing less than the goal of the resurrection to life and glory that Paul had in mind when he wrote, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13, 14).

The perseverance of the saints reminds us very forcefully that only those who persevere to the end are truly saints. We do not attain to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus automatically. Perseverance means the engagement of our persons in the most intense and concentrated devotion to those means which God has ordained for the achievement of his saving purpose. The scriptural doctrine of perseverance has no affinity with the quietism and antinomianism which are so prevalent in evangelical

These things being true, it is obviously an error of the gravest sort to assume that a past experience of conversion makes one unconditionally secure and constitutes a guarantee of final salvation. And why should men who concede that perseverance in faith is the only real evidence of personal salvation, and indeed the very “means which God has ordained for the achievement of his saving purpose,” insinuate (as do some) that all who faithfully exhort Christians to continue in the faith and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel are somehow “enemies of grace” and of the Gospel of Christ? And what warrant have men for turning away the concern of Christians from the imperative necessity of deliberately persevering in faith and implying that the only real concern is whether a past conversion experience was valid by constantly trumpeting the popular doctrine of “once in grace, always in grace” (which, even in the light of Calvin’s assertion that the non-elect enjoy a temporary experience of the grace of God that causes them to believe that they are elect, is a misleading half-truth, shamefully short of a full and accurate definition of doctrine)? There is a deadly inconsistency in the ministry of people who believe that God saves and secures men—not apart from, but through means—but whose preaching serves to destroy the concern of their hearers for the essential importance of continuing in the means. How different was the ministry of Paul (Acts 14:22; Colossians 1:23; Romans 11:19–22; 1Corinthians 15:1–2; 1Timothy 4:16; 2Timothy 2:10–12; etc.).

The New Testament writers sometimes bade their readers recall their past experience of grace for their encouragement in present trials. But they never encouraged them to begin placing confidence in the mere fact of past grace, as if that settled matters for eternity. Rather, they exhorted them to press on in the way of faith, as they had in the past. But many churches today would bar from their pulpits any person who would dare to preach the urgent warnings of Paul, the other apostles, and our Savior Himself, without carefully “explaining” them into total irrelevance. They have been taught to believe that a past act of faith and experience of grace constitute infallible assurance of unconditional security. They are fully confident that they are elect and therefore must continue in grace, despite any and all eventualities.

Certainly the elect will persevere in faith and grace to final salvation. The fact is indisputable. But while God knows who they are, and has known from the beginning, people can know only as they persevere. While it is true that the elect will persevere to the end, that is only half the truth; for it is equally true that they who persevere to the end are the elect. It is the latter solemn truth that the holy Scriptures present as a matter for the utmost concern of believers. To ignore the import of the many urgent warnings against the peril of apostasy by appealing to a particular definition of the doctrine of election is to tread a path of folly and presumption. Even if Calvin’s doctrine of unconditional election was correct (which it is it could never be of more than academic import, since (as Calvin acknowledged) actual perseverance in faith constitutes the only real evidence of personal election. We should be foolish indeed, were we to allow interpretations and definitions and hypotheses of the doctrine of election to dissuade us from giving earnest heed to the Savior’s explicit warning: “Remain in Me, and I in you.... If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice... and they follow Me.” No man who is not listening to His voice and following Him has warrant for assuming that he is one of Christ’s sheep. No man who is not deliberately persevering in the way of faith has warrant for assuming he has eternal life in Christ. No man who is not living in obedient faith has warrant for entertaining the hope of everlasting salvation.

Let us summarize: Calvin taught that, while the elect will certainly persevere in faith and grace, reprobate Christians have a temporary experience of grace, during which time they are completely unaware of any distinction between themselves and the elect, sincerely believing God to be fully propitious to them and believing themselves to be truly elect. Calvin also taught that the only real evidence of the election of any individual is his perseverance in faith. Thus, even from the teachings of Calvin, we must conclude that while a past conversion experience and a present sense of grace are precious encouragements, they do not constitute absolute evidence of election to everlasting salvation.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Objectively, the elect will persevere, and they who persevere are elect. Subjectively, the individual is elect only as he This conclusion is inescapable, regardless of one’s definition of election.

The important question arises, Is it possible to know whether we are actually persevering? Can we know whether salvation is a present reality, rather than a vain assumption? Thank God, yes! John writes, “I wrote these things to you, the ones believing in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life” (1John 5:13, Much of the first epistle of John is concerned with the question of how to know we have eternal life. In 1 John, he presents seven important ways to know that salvation is a present reality:

1.First, as there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ, there is no valid assurance of salvation possible except as one deliberately trusts in Him. Sincere faith in Jesus Christ is, itself, an evidence of salvation. The person who is “trusting in the name of the Son of God” (Thornhill, McReynolds) can “know” that they are having “eternal life” (5:13). John also writes, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God” (4:15, “Everyone who is trusting that Jesus is the Anointed One [the Messiah], they have been born from God” (5:1, Thornhill); “Who is the one who is conquering the world except the one who is trusting that Jesus is the Son of God?” (5:5, It is important to recognize that such confessions as John mentions in the preceding verses are not mere casual mental assents. John’s statements must be viewed against the background of his day. Whoever made such confessions in that day must be prepared to suffer persecution—perhaps the loss of family, friends, livelihood, position in the community, and even life itself. People did not lightly persist in such confessions. But according to John, it is only as a person is trusting in the name of the Son of God that he or she may have both eternal life, and valid assurance of that life. “Assurance” of eternal life on any other basis is vain presumption.

2.One has assurance that they have eternal life in Christ if they are honoring Christ as the Lord of their life and keeping His word and commandments. “This is how we can be sure that we have come to know him: if we continually keep his commandments. The person who says, ‘I have come to know him,’ but does not continually keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth has no place in that person. But whoever continually keeps his commandments is the kind of person in whom God’s love has truly been perfected” (2:3–5a, Cf. 3:24; 5:2; John 8:31, 51; 14:21–24; 15:9–14; Hebrews 5:8–9).

3.One has assurance that they have eternal life in Christ if they are walking after the example of their Savior. “This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: The one who says that he abides in him must live the same way he himself lived” (2:5b–6, cf. John 8:12; 14:12). No one not endeavoring to follow the example of Jesus and to walk in His steps has warrant for assuming they are saved. Jesus is the example for all His followers. An example is not necessarily a savior; and we need more than an example: we need a savior. But Jesus cannot be the Savior of people who do not accept Him as their example.

4.One has assurance that they have eternal life in Christ if they are loving the Father and His will, rather than the world. “Stop loving the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him. For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God’s will remains forever” (2:15–17,

5.One has assurance that they have eternal life in Christ if they habitually practice righteousness, rather than sin. “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.... Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practise righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (2:29; 3:8–10).

6.One has assurance that they have eternal life in Christ if they are loving their brothers and sisters. “We know that we have passed from death into life because we are loving the brothers. The one not loving is abiding in death. Everyone hating his brother is a murderer, and you know that every murderer does not have eternal life abiding in him” (3:14–15, “Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth” (3:18, cf. 2:9–11; 3:23; 4:8, 11, 12, 16, 20–5:1; John 13:34–35).

7.The seventh means of assurance that one has eternal life in Christ is a consciousness of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. “The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us” (3:24, “This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit” (4:13,

A consciousness of the indwelling presence of the Comforter is the most blessed evidence of the possession of eternal life in Christ that one may have. But one will know the comforting assurance of the Spirit only as he manifests the other evidences of salvation that John cites. It is sheer presumption for anyone to “know” he has eternal life who is not trusting in Christ with a sincere heart, keeping His word and commandments, walking as He walked, loving the Father and His will rather than the world, loving his fellow Christians, and practicing righteousness rather than sin. Anyone who presumes to have the inner witness of the Spirit under other circ*mstances is mistaken.

Not every inner witness is authentic. The Bible warns against both self-deception and deceiving spirits. There is a very real danger of being misled by seducing spirits, especially for people who become greatly concerned about inner feelings. What easy preys seducing spirits find in people who take great account of personal feelings. Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light, cannot perfectly mimic the witness of the Holy Spirit; nor can the demons and seducing spirits. But they can do so sufficiently well to deceive unwary people for whom personal feelings are the most important guide in matters of doctrine and faith. The Spirit has expressly declared “some of the faith will apostatize, by being devoted to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1Timothy 4:1, John warns us to be on our guard against both false prophets and deceiving spirits (1John 4:1). The peril is real. To become preoccupied with inner feelings is dangerous and wrong in this age in which we are called to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2Cor. 5:7).

It is a blessed fact that “the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). But this is true only for those who walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. There is no fellowship with God possible for people who are walking in darkness. “Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1John 1:5–7,

There is no valid witness or assurance of salvation apart from obedient faith in Jesus Christ that manifests itself in saying “no” to sin and “yes” to loving God and others. John’s assurance of having eternal life is nothing different from Paul’s assurance that he gives to those who go on having a “faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (John 8:51).

equally wrong are those who assert that all who are certain they have been saved ought never to question the fact of their personal salvation. They do not agree with Paul that men whom he addressed as “saints” who have been “sanctified in Christ Jesus” should be admonished to examine themselves (2Corinthians 13:5) to discover whether they are yet in the faith, or instead are reprobates in whom Christ no longer dwells. They do not agree with John that there is a real and deadly possibility that people who have fully experienced the saving grace of God might abandon the Gospel of Christ, which they once received, and thus disown the Son and forfeit having eternal life, which is ours only in union with Him (John 6:54–56; 15:1–6; 1John 2:23–25). They do not agree with Peter that people “who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours” (2 Peter 1:1, and who now “participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires,” yet have need to guard against the peril of being “carried away by the error of the lawless and fall[ing] from [their] secure position” (2 Peter 3:17, and actually sharing the fate of these unstable people who “twist ” the Scriptures “to their own [eternal] destruction” (2Peter 3:16).

considered reprobation a positive decree. For a brief discussion of Calvin’s view of reprobation and of his erroneous fundamental assumption. See online Supplement Appendix D.

was Calvin’s explanation of the fact that many fall from grace, a fact he acknowledged. His theology required him to assume that those who fall from grace do so by the express design of God. They believe for a while, only to fall away because they are not of the elect and therefore must perish. God wills that they perish, for such is the sole purpose and destiny for which He created them. Calvin’s assumption, essential to the defense of the logic of his theology, is completely contrary to the total affirmation of the holy Scriptures.

exception is the late Dr. Henry C. Thiessen, who, in his Introductory Lectures in Systematic states a good case for conditional election while contending for the unconditional security of “those who have had a vital experience of salvation.”

a defense of election being Christocentric and primarily corporate, see Robert Shank, Elect in the For a summary of corporate election from major voices in the scholarly community, see online Supplement on “Corporate Election.”

on the Epistle to the 146 f.

81–90. The entire portion is excellent, but most of it has been omitted to conserve space. At this point, John Owen, the translator and editor, adds a footnote: “What is implied here is that we may professedly be partakers of Christ, that is of his blessing as a Saviour, and yet be not really so. The proof of the reality is in the perseverance.” Such an assumption is necessary, of course, for the defense of the doctrine of unconditional election. But it is contrary both to the assertion of the Scripture passage, and to the tenor of Calvin’s comments.

The disparity between Calvin’s Institutes and some of the material in his Commentaries is quite apparent to the observing reader. Strong writes, “The progress in Calvin’s thought may be seen by comparing some of his earlier with his later utterances.... we must give Calvin credit for modifying his doctrine with maturer reflection and advancing years” 778). Strong’s contention that portions of the Commentaries reflect a maturer Calvin than the Institutes is justified. But “advancing years” do not wholly account for the disparity, since the while first written when he was twenty-six, were revised several times, the last revision being in 1559, just five years before his death.

The disparity must be attributed to the fact that, in his Commentaries, Calvin’s approach to the Scriptures was often much more candid than in his Institutes. In his lifelong development of the Calvin never was able to free himself from the basic concepts he entertained at twenty-six years of age, and he tended always to view the Scriptures from the standpoint of his theology, which, unfortunately, is grounded more upon logic than upon the Bible itself—a logic that proceeds from the erroneous a priori assumption that the will of God has but a single aspect. In his Commentaries, however, Calvin tended to get closer to the Scripture itself. Consequently, there is a startling disparity to be found between the Institutes and some portions of his a disparity many have noted. The above comments of Calvin (containing such statements as “But if [Christ] is possessed by faith, we must persevere in it, so that he may be our perpetual possession” and “Christ, then, has given himself to be enjoyed by us on this condition, that by the same faith by which we have been admitted into a participation of him, we are to preserve so great a blessing even to death”) can so little be reconciled with the gist of his Institutes that Owen finds it necessary to insist that we assume Calvin to have implied an insincere profession of faith. Despite Owen’s plea, there is no evidence of such an implication in Calvin’s comments.

Commentary on the Acts of the 2:24 f.

1873:

1873: 459.

Eadie 1884: 83–84. It is odd that a Calvinist should speak of “how much is suspended on perseverance.” For according to “tulip” theology’s doctrine of unconditional election, nothing at all is suspended on perseverance. Quite to the contrary, perseverance is supposedly suspended on election. But when men get close to the Scriptures, they often get far from their theology. Eadie has it right: much is suspended on perseverance, according to the Scriptures—all theology to the contrary notwithstanding.

Hoekema, longtime professor at Calvin Theological Seminary, stated in his book Saved by “Peter puts it vividly: We are kept by the power of God through Peter 1:5]—a living faith, which expresses itself through love (Galatians 5:6). In other words, we may never simply rest on the comfort of God’s preservation [of the saints] apart from the continuing exercise of faith” (1989: 244). Hoekema (1989: 245) approvingly cites Robert Shank’s comments in Life in the Son (1961: 64) on the confidence of one’s assurance being predicated upon deliberately persevering in faith and not on some past experience.

and 193.

certainty of election and perseverance is with respect, not to particular persons unconditionally, but to the Church the body of believers) corporately. See Elect in the by Robert Shank, and the summary on Corporate Election in the online Supplement.

(1991: 59–60) writes:

The victory that overcomes the world is our faith (1 John 5:4). We have our victory because God gives it to us through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

We continue by grace through faith, obedient faith (1 John 1:7; 2:3–6). The Greek tenses in 1 John 5:5 indicate continuous, or characteristic, action. That is, the person who keeps on overcoming is the one who keeps on believing with active, trusting, obedient faith. The same sort of continuous, characteristic believing causes one to keep on having the witness in himself (1 John 5:10; Romans 8:16). Because eternal life is Christ’s life and is only in Christ, only those who keep on having (or holding to) the Son keep on having eternal life, while those who do not keep having (or holding to) God’s Son do not keep on having that life (1 John 5:11–12; see also John 3:16; 6:47; the one who keeps believing keeps on having eternal life).

THIRTY-ONE

Is Apostasy Without Remedy?

“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” (Matthew 27:4, Such was the cry of wretched Judas in his bitter remorse. Did his anguished cry awaken concern and pity in the hearts of the priests, the official shepherds in Israel? “What is that to us?” was the scornful retort of his fellow-conspirators.

Hurling into the holy place the coins that mocked his anguish, thirty silver coins for which he had sold Jesus—and his soul, Judas hurried from the Temple to... where? He was a man without friend, without priest, without God, without hope. Where could he go? To a tree, a noose, and a bloody field—his last waystation on a swift journey to hell. “What is that to us?”

The priests were painfully scrupulous about the “lawful” use of the money, now that it was in their pious possession again. What zeal they had for the proprieties of religion! But for the innocence of Jesus, and for the soul of Judas—“What is that to us?”

To the priests, the problem of apostasy was merely academic and quite irrelevant. Not so for Judas. It was a problem with which he could not live, and for which he found no solution. And I daresay it is a problem that weighs heavily on many anxious souls today.

Is apostasy without remedy? Several passages of Scripture seem to affirm that it is. John writes, “If anyone sees his fellow Christian committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that” (1John 5:16,

The writer to the Hebrews warns, “For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt” (6:4–6,

Again, he warns: “For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the [saving] knowledge of the no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies. Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace?... It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:26–29, 31,

The writer’s consideration of the problem of falling away after having been “partakers of the Holy Spirit” (6:4) and his assertion that deliberate defection constitutes an insult against “the Spirit of grace” (10:29) strongly associate such apostasy with the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, concerning which Jesus solemnly warned: “For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31–32,

Jesus presents no prospect of forgiveness for the sin against the Holy Spirit. Is there a “point of no return” that men may reach, a condition of abandonment from which they cannot be recovered? So the Scriptures affirm. It is recorded of Eli’s sons that they refused their father’s reproof and “would not listen to their father, since the intended to kill them” (1Samuel 2:25, J.P. Lange comments:

[T]hey were in a state of inner hardening which excluded the subjective condition of salvation from destruction, and so they had already incurred God’s unchangeable condemnation. As hardened offenders, they were already appointed by God to death; therefore the word of instruction had no moral effect on

God had determined that “The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering” (1Samuel 3:14,

Contemplating the rise of the ultimate antichrist, “the man of sin” and “the lawless one” whose appearance on the world scene will be accomplished by “the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,” Paul declares of men who “refused to love the truth and so be saved,” that “God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2Thessalonians 2:9–12). Robertson comments, “Here is the definite judicial act of God (Milligan) who gives the wicked over to the evil which they have deliberately chosen (Romans 1:24, 26, 28)... [the] terrible result of wilful rejection of the truth of

It is evident that the sons of Eli and the unbelievers cited by Paul had passed a “point of no return.” Many believe this to be the situation of the apostates depicted in Hebrews 6 and 10 and in 1John 5:16.

But other passages indicate that is not without remedy. Consider Paul’s important assertion in Romans 11. He declares that “some of the branches” (individual ethnic Jews who rejected Jesus at His appearing) have been broken off because of their unbelief, but they can yet be restored if they do not continue in unbelief. “They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again” (Romans

Paul himself is an example of one who, when Christ was offered for sin, became a “broken off” branch. For he continued with Judaism while, at Calvary, God’s redemptive processes shifted from the ordinances of the old economy to Christ’s “one sacrifice for sins for ever.” The levitical priesthood and ordinances of animal sacrifice suddenly became invalid in God’s sight, and all who continued in such observances only imagined a vain thing. In their rejection of Jesus and the New Covenant in His blood, they were broken off through unbelief. This must necessarily have been the case with Paul, who was under the old economy, “the righteousness that is in the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:6, cf. Luke 1:6). (Paul did not mean, of course, that he had been without sin under the Law. In fact, the Law had made him painfully aware of sin. But he honored the Law, though he could not keep it perfectly, and he availed himself of the grace vouchsafed in the ordinances and was thus “blameless” with respect to “the righteousness that is in the law.”)

To assert that Paul was not under saving grace in his earlier life and had never known salvation before his encounter with Christ on the Damascus road is to assert that people could not be saved under the old economy. But despite the fact that he had continued “blameless” under the Law, when Christ was offered in fulfillment of the Law and the prophets and to establish the New Covenant in His blood, Paul became a branch “broken off” through his unbelief in the appointed Savior and the New Covenant announced in His Gospel. It was not until Paul stopped continuing in his “unbelief” that he was “grafted” back into God’s covenant people (“the olive tree”), who presently receive their life from Christ (“the root,” Romans 11:17; How truly was Jesus “appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34).

God’s grace! How rich, how full, how free! Those who first celebrated Calvary in rank apostasy and blasphemed the holy name of Jesus could be restored to grace, if they continued not in unbelief. The desire of God’s heart is to “have mercy on all” (Romans 11:32) and to answer the prayer of Jesus, “Father, forgive them.”

Again, consider Paul’s words to the Galatians. Some of the Galatians had erred from the faith through the influence of the Judaizers and thus became “severed from Christ,” who, because of their attempt to ensure justification through fleshly observances, now “profited them nothing” (5:4, 2, But while not minimizing the tragedy and woe of their present spiritual state through their unwitting defection from Christ, Paul does not despair of their recovery. He assumes that the erring Galatians may be restored, and he is therefore willing to “travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (4:19, as once he did in leading them to their original conversion to Christ (cf. 1Corinthians 4:15). He has confidence in the Lord that they will come to share his mind (5:10a) that faith in Christ alone, to the exclusion of all confidence in fleshly observances, is the way of justification and salvation. Thus we see that, while the error of the Galatians constituted actual defection from Christ and His saving Gospel and was a mortal error, it was not without remedy. Paul was willing to “travail again” on their behalf, that they might be restored to grace through a return to simple faith in Christ (cf. 2Corinthians 11:3 and context).

Consider another evidence that apostasy is not without remedy. Paul directed the Corinthians to excommunicate a man guilty of incest (1Corinthians 5:1 ff.). Such action was necessary for the purity and testimony of the church. But another purpose was also in view. The offender was to be excommunicated and officially delivered over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh for a salutary purpose: “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (v.5). The offender’s sin, unjudged and unforgiven, had wrought spiritual death within—a state that now was to be publicly acknowledged through excommunication. But the offender was not to be considered beyond recovery. In fact, excommunication itself would tend toward his possible restoration. It would awaken him to the tragedy of his circ*mstance and his need for forgiveness and restoration. Robertson comments: “Paul’s motive is not merely vindictive, but the reformation of the offender.... The final salvation of the man in the day of Christ is the goal and this is to be attained not by condoning his We may surmise from 2Corinthians 2:5–11 (if the same man is in view) that the salutary purpose in excommunication was realized, and he was restored to grace and welcomed back into the fellowship of the Church.

Let us consider another evidence that apostasy is not without remedy. Paul expressed fear that, should he return to Corinth, he should be obliged to “bewail” a term of mourning as for the dead) many who had sinned flagrantly and had not repented (2Corinthians 12:21). He warns the Corinthians that, should he come, he will not spare the rod of reproof (13:2) against those who have lapsed into lascivious living and have not repented. Knowing that they may be unaware of their tragic spiritual circ*mstance, he admonishes them (13:5) to examine themselves to see whether they are still in the faith, as they presume to be, or have instead become reprobate in which case Jesus Christ no longer dwells in them. But it is fully evident (12:21) that Paul assumes that the offenders who have not as yet repented may do so, if they will, and so be restored to a saving relationship with Christ.

James concludes his letter with a word of both warning and encouragement: “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (5:19–20, Robertson writes:

It was easy then, and is now, to be led astray from Christ, who is the Truth.... A soul from the soul of the sinner ... won back to Christ, not the soul of the man winning him.... It is ultimate and final salvation here meant by the future

Finally, let us consider the gracious appeal of the risen Christ to the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14–22), a church in which He found not one thing to commend. The Laodicean church had lost all distinction from the world around it, being “neither hot nor cold.” (How many churches there are in our day in the disastrous circ*mstance of the church at Laodicea!) Jesus expresses His wish that they were either hot or cold—anything but “lukewarm,” a condition exactly like that of the environment around them. They have lost their spiritual distinction from the pagan world and differ in nothing, being actually a part of the world rather than of the Kingdom of Christ. Professing themselves to be wealthy and in need of nothing, they are in reality wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked—lacking the garment of the righteousness of Christ to cover their spiritual nakedness. They are spiritually dead. But they have not yet passed a “point of no return”; Jesus has yet to vomit them out of His mouth. In their present state, they are as distasteful to Christ as a beverage that is intended to be hot, but is only lukewarm; or a beverage that should be cold, but has become lukewarm. He is on the point of vomitting them from His mouth, and there is nothing about them in their present state that will allow Him to do otherwise. But He still loves them and therefore entreats them, while there is yet opportunity, to “be zealous and repent” (3:19b). There seems little prospect that the church, as a whole, will heed His warning and repent and be restored to grace. Nevertheless, individuals within the church may heed His call, if they will. Therefore, standing outside the door of the Laodicean church, Christ tenderly entreats: “Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me. I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (3:20–21, They are mistaken who assume that apostasy is necessarily without remedy.

One of the passages often cited by those who contend that apostasy is necessarily without remedy is 1John 5:16. John does not define the “sin that leads to death” in his statement. But the context of his entire epistle suggests that the sin of which he writes is the renunciation of the Savior through open denial that Jesus is actually the Messiah come in the flesh, the holy Son of God. (Cf. 1John 4:15; 5:1, 5, 9, 10, 13, 20; 1:2.) Such denial is fatal and marks one as an antichrist (4:2–3). The attempts of the antichrists to “seduce” the faithful by persuading them to join them in discarding the cardinal doctrines of Christ constitute a real threat to their spiritual safety, against which John urgently warns them (4:1–3; 2John 7–11; 1John 2:18–28). But though John warns believers to have nothing to do with the antichrists and does not enjoin prayer in their behalf, neither does he forbid such prayer nor expressly affirm that their restoration is impossible. Westcott writes:

St. John does not command intercession when the sin is seen, recognized by the brother, in its fatal intensity; but on the other hand he does not expressly exclude it. Even if the tenour of his words may seem to dissuade such prayer, it is because the offender lies without the Christian Body, excluded from its life, but yet not beyond the creative, vivifying power of

Nothing is impossible for God that is consonant with His character and His eternal purposes.

Another passage cited by those who assume that apostasy is necessarily without remedy is Hebrews 6:4–6. But we need not conclude that the passage teaches that the renewal of apostates to repentance is necessarily impossible. Westcott comments on verse 6:

The use of the active voice limits the strict application of the words [“it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance”] to human agency. This is all that comes within the range of the writer’s

Certainly, the Bible teaches that repentance is essentially the work of God and, in any instance, is the response of the individual to divine influences from God through the Spirit. But God uses human beings as His agents in accomplishing His purposes. While it pleases God to be saving all “the ones believing” (1Corinthians 1:21, it pleases Him also to employ humans as His agents in preaching and teaching the Gospel of Christ, which “is the power of God for salvation to everyone believing” (Romans 1:16, There is a definite place for human agency in effecting the repentance and salvation of the lost. Westcott doubtless is correct in his assertion that the impossibility of renewing to repentance the apostates depicted in Hebrews 6 is limited to human agencies. (Contra. James 5:19–20; Jude 22–23; Galatians 6:1; 2Timothy 2:25–26, where human agency is encouraged and the prospect of success is implied.) What is said by the writer to the Hebrews to be impossible for men is not impossible for God, with whom all things right and good are possible.

Again, Westcott writes:

The present participles (contrast of the definite past act of apostasy) bring out the moral cause of the impossibility which has been affirmed. There is an active, continuous hostility to Christ in the souls of such men as have been

The apostasy in view in Hebrews 6 takes its character, not merely from a past act of defection, but also from a present deliberate hostility toward Christ. The impossibility of renewal to repentance and salvation rests, not on the mere fact of a past act, but on the fact of a present condition of opposition: “as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule” (v.6b, The present condition of deliberate, open hostility may conceivably be remedied and the persons renewed to repentance and salvation.

There is hope implied also in the verses that immediately follow: “For a piece of ground that drinks in the rains so frequently falling on it, and continues yielding vegetation useful to those for whose sakes it is cultivated, receives from God His blessings. But if it continues to yield thorns and thistles, it is considered worthless and in danger of being cursed, and its final fate is burning” (vv. 7–8, Williams). The ground that has yielded only thorns and thistles has already been adjudged worthless, and it is now rejected; but it is said to be only “near to being cursed” It awaits eventual burning, but that fate as yet is only in prospect. Perhaps it may be averted. The branch pruned away from the vine (John 15:6) immediately withers, because it is severed from the source of life; but it is not immediately gathered and cast into the fire and burned. The branches broken off through unbelief may yet be grafted in again, if they continue not in unbelief (Romans 11:20–23). “God is able to graft them in again!” The Laodicean church is dead; there is not one sign of spiritual life in it. The risen Christ is on the point of vomiting them from His mouth and ending all prospect of restoration. But He has not done so as yet, and He bids them hasten to repent and know again His saving grace. Restoration is not impossible for apostates, including those depicted in Hebrews

Shepardson takes a similarly hopeful view of Hebrews 10, declaring that the apostasy in view is

purposeful and continuous apostasy from Christianity. The word “sin” is in the present participle, which denotes not a single act of unbelief, but a state or condition of unbelief. [Cf. Lange on Hebrews 10:26, “... the pres. hamartanontōn marks habitual in contrast with transient denial.”] Those described are those who... turn away from Christ and continue... to turn away.

...

...just as long as we continue in this state of willful apostasy we put ourselves beyond the possibility of forgiveness.

...

The revealed character of God makes it certain that such apostasy, if continued, must sooner or later bring terrible punishment. Holy love will compel some adequate recognition in penalty of such a crime. Whatever judgment comes to men will be commensurate with their character and opportunities. Because of what He is, He must not only punish the wicked, but also care for His own; judgment for all will be unquestionably just. For those who are in Christ, judgment will have no terrors; but for those who have separated themselves from Him and are now living “without God and without hope in the world,” it will be seen to be “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Such is our author’s renewed warning against the awfulness of continuous apostasy from [Christ], this apostasy being regarded from the point of view of the judgment and looked back upon as a completed

Shepardson’s contention that the fearful judgment of Hebrews 10:29 f. is regarded from the point of view of the coming Day of Judgment, and is seen in retrospect as a thing completed, is fully warranted by language. The verb axiōthēsetai is future passive indicative. It is declared by the writer to the Hebrews that one who proves himself to be a willful, persistent apostate “will be judged worthy” of infinite punishment. Final condemnation may yet be averted, while life and opportunity continue.

Westcott likewise contends that the apostasy in view in Hebrews 10 is not necessarily without remedy: “It must be observed that the argument assumes that the sacrifice of Christ is finally rejected and sin persisted in The writer does not set limits to the efficacy of Christ’s work for the

We have earlier associated the apostasy depicted in Hebrews 6 and 10 with the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The charge of the Pharisees that Jesus cast out demons by Beelzebub was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in that it constituted a denial of His testimony to Jesus, who performed His ministry “in the power of the Spirit.” The testimony of the Spirit to Jesus today is the proclamation of His saving Gospel and the personal witness of believers in whom He dwells. Men who reject that witness, including all who apostatize, are as guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit as were the Pharisees who ridiculed Christ’s ministry of deliverance. But let us observe that it is a mistake to view such blasphemy as the isolated act of a single moment. Although in both Matthew 12:32 and Mark 3:29 the act of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is expressed by aorist subjunctives, it does not follow that the act must be considered as momentary and punctiliar. Burton declares that the aorist of the dependent moods “when indefinite may refer to a momentary or extended action or to a series of Likewise an aorist participle (Luke 12:10) “when indefinite... may be used of momentary or extended actions or of a series of Language therefore does not specify that the unforgivable blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the act of a single moment. Other considerations indicate that such blasphemy is unforgivable only as one finally persists in it.

It is encouraging to read that, despite the intensity of the hatred and resentment toward Jesus that so generally prevailed among the priests and the Pharisees during His earthly ministry, in the early days of the Church “a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7), and many of the Pharisees became believers (Acts 15:5). Must we assume that the blasphemous verdict that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub was never general among the Pharisees, and that not one man who once held that opinion ever became a believer? What, then, must have been the original opinion of Saul the Pharisee concerning the exorcisms of Jesus, whom he considered a rank fraud and an enemy of Moses, the Law, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Did he not originally concur in the judgment of those who charged that Jesus cast out demons by Beelzebub? Did he not share in their guilt and condemnation? But where sin abounds, there grace does much more abound, free to all who will receive it with contrite hearts.

The mercy of God is great. “That mercy is wider than all humanity, deeper than all sin, was before all rebellion, and will last for ever. And it is open for every soul of man to receive it if he Even after declaring that apostates are “reserve[d] for punishment at the day of judgment” (2Peter 2:9, and that to them “the utter depths of darkness have been reserved” (v.17, and that “the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (3:7, already has been determined, Peter declares that the Lord “is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (v.9, and asserts that the long delay in judgment (“the patience of our Lord,” v.15, is for salvation. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. His heart of mercy finds no delight in the punishment of sinners that His righteousness and the moral integrity of His universe demand. He prefers mercy to judgment. To people who “have forsaken the and “spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him,” a merciful God implores, “Seek the while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isaiah 1:4; 55:6–7,

It is evident that blasphemy against the Spirit of grace is unforgivable, not as it stands as the isolated act of a single moment, but only as it remains the final attitude of the individual in his rejection of the appeals and proffered mercies of God. Surely there is warrant for believing that only in rare instances (e.g., Eli’s sons) may apostasy be irremediable before the occasion of death; and certainly not in any instance in which the individual becomes concerned about his spiritual circ*mstance and sincerely penitent toward God.

Many dear souls mistakenly fear they have so blasphemed the Holy Spirit that they have passed a “point of no return.” It is easy so to imagine. For who of us has not sorely grieved the Blessed Comforter? Who has not quenched His holy influence? Who has not ignored His still, small voice and His faithful guidance? But men who fear they have so blasphemed the Holy Spirit that they are forever beyond recovery are mistaken. Their fear is evidence that such is not the case.

Many, however, regard their very fear as cause for despair. The assertion that, for those who apostatize, there remains only “a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies” (Hebrews 10:27, has struck terror to the hearts of many who have imagined that the writer meant there was no possibility of recovery and that, for all who once withdraw from Christ, there remains no prospect other than to live out their days in constant dread and fearful anticipation of their inevitable final condemnation. Their fear, itself, has been regarded as infallible evidence that their situation is hopeless and their doom is sealed for eternity. But they have misunderstood the writer’s statement. The rendering of ekdochē as “looking for” or “expectation” has been most unfortunate. Alford writes:

reception (i.e., doom: not, as I believe universally interpreted without remark, The word used appears never to have this sense, and this is the only place where it occurs in the New Test. All which remains is the reception of the doom of judgment, and the fiery &c.) of judgment... 18

The writer’s meaning is that the certain prospect before apostates (except they repent) is fiery judgment (cf. Williams). The picture of men abandoned to perdition living out their days in dreadful anticipation of fiery judgment, is completely contrary to the Scriptures. To the contrary, the few passages that refer to men in such circ*mstance portray them as brazen and self-confident, anticipating no such fiery judgment. There is no fear apparent in Eli’s sons following their warning. There is no suggestion of fear present in the men cited by Paul in 2Thessalonians 2:10–12. Men abandoned to final reprobation during “the tribulation, the great” (Revelation 7:14, the Greek text is emphatic) are depicted as utterly devoid of repentance and the fear of God. Their only response to the righteous judgments of God will be increasing unreprentance and blasphemy (Revelation 9:20–21; 16:9, 11, 21). All who feel a revulsion and horror at the thought of such impudence may be sure that they are not beyond the holy influences of the Spirit of grace and the possibility of redemption. Let them recognize that “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4), and the feeling of repentance within their hearts is the gracious call of a loving God. “The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit—O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject” (Psalm 51:17,

Some have been distressed by the fact that Judas is said to have repented, but his repentance availed nothing. Matthew records that “Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he [Jesus] was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders” (27:3, But the Greek text does not state that Judas actually repented but merely that he regretted The words are synonyms, but there is an important distinction between them. Metamelomai signifies regret or remorse, but such remorse does not necessarily involve actual modification of the moral purpose and intention of the individual. Metanoeō is the more comprehensive term, involving not only remorse for the past, but also a deliberate change of mind, heart, purpose, and intention for the future. Although Thayer contends that the distinction between the two is not so great as some have supposed, he concedes that is the fuller and nobler term, expressive of moral action and issues, [and this fact] is indicated not only by its derivation, but by the greater frequency of its use, by the fact that it is often employed in the imperative never), and by its construction with ek (cf. hē eis theon Acts xx. Most translators have recognized that metamelētheis indicates that the remorse of Judas fell short of actual repentance toward God, and they have translated accordingly. Robertson comments:

mere sorrow avails nothing unless it leads to change of mind and life the sorrow according to God (2Corinthians 7:9). This sorrow Peter had when he wept bitterly. It led Peter back to Christ. But Judas had only remorse that led to

Another passage that has troubled many is found in Hebrews 12. It is recorded that Esau, a profane (earthly-minded) person, “for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:16–17 The picture of Esau tearfully seeking repentance, but all in vain—forever rejected—has terrified many troubled souls who have imagined themselves to be in such fearful predicament.

First, let us recognize that in the case of Esau, the “rejection” had nothing to do with his salvation. Westcott comments:

The son who had sacrificed his right could not undo the past, and it is this only which is in question. No energy of sorrow or self-condemnation, however sincere, could restore to him the prerogative of the firstborn. The consideration of the forgiveness of his sin against God, as distinct from the reversal of the temporal consequences of his sin, lies wholly without the argument.... It would be equally true to say that in respect of the privileges of the first-born which Esau had sold, he found no place for repentance, and that in respect of his spiritual relation to God, if his sorrow was sincere, he did find a place for

(Irrespective of the chicanery of Rebekah and Jacob, God had rejected Esau as the heir to the Abrahamic Covenant and the progenitor of the Messianic line—a matter that has nothing to do with the question of his salvation.)

Lünemann makes a strong case for applying the clause, “for he found no place for repentance,” to Isaac rather than to This view is in complete accord with the account in Genesis (27:33 ff.) and was adopted by the translators of the American Standard “When he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind in his though he sought it diligently with tears” (Hebrews 12:17, What Esau vainly sought was not his own repentance, but a change of mind in Isaac and the bequest of the blessing pertaining to the firstborn, which was now impossible, much to the sorrow of both Isaac and Esau. There is no warrant for the popular picture of Esau tearfully endeavoring to arrive at a condition of repentance, but forever unable to do so, forever beyond redemption.

But while the issue with respect to Esau himself pertained only to the matter of his temporal blessing as the firstborn, rather than to his salvation, it is nevertheless true that the writer to the Hebrews presents the episode as an object lesson to warn his readers not to trifle with their heavenly birthright as sons of God by becoming earthly minded, after the example of profane Esau. As Esau lost the temporal heritage that might have been his, so the writer warns Christians that they may lose the heavenly heritage that is theirs. But it was some years after carelessly consenting to sell his birthright that Esau finally lost, through the deception of Rebekah and Jacob, the heritage that he earlier had considered as of trifling consequence in comparison with the immediate satisfaction of his physical appetite.

Eventually there came a time when the heritage that Esau had treated with disdain became irretrievably lost. After the blessing of Isaac had been pronounced, Esau’s loss could not be remedied. Isaac’s first blessing and the rights of primogeniture had been bestowed upon Jacob; the issue was closed, and Esau’s tears and loud protests were forever in vain. Just so, for every Christian whose love of this present world leads him to trifle away his heavenly birthright as an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ, there must come a time (except he repent) when judgment becomes final, and the heritage lost can never be recovered.

But that time is not yet, so long as life and the day of grace continue. For were this not so, the many appeals of God to those who have gone astray would be vain mockery, and many encouraging passages in the Scriptures would be outright deception of the cruelest sort. The door of hope is not closed against those who, having become “not My people” because of their wickedness and unfaithfulness, may yet cry, “Come, let us return to the for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1). But let none presume upon time, for life and opportunity are uncertain, and the day of grace must come to an end. “Seek the while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6–7).

But despite the many Scriptures to the contrary, some persist in denying that restoration is possible for those who actually have fallen from grace, on the ground that a second birth is an impossibility. “Jesus did not say, ‘You must be born again and again,’” say they. “There can be but one spiritual birth for an individual, just as there can be but one physical birth.” The objection seems valid to men whose concept of the new birth is inadequate and unscriptural and who assume that an equation exists between physical and spiritual birth. But such is not the case, as we have considered in chapter 15. Furthermore, although there was but one physical birth for Lazarus of Bethany, he experienced a resurrection to a resumption of the physical life that began with his birth. Shall we assume that the God who can recall dead men to a resumption of physical life cannot restore fallen men to a resumption of spiritual life in Christ?

Distinguishing between conversion and restoration, Westcott comments on Hebrews 6:4–6:

Some divine work then may be equivalent to this renewing, though not identical with it (Matthew xix. 26). The change in such a case would not be a new birth, but a raising from the dead.

...

The end of this renewal is a complete change of mind consequent upon the apprehension of the true moral nature of things. It follows necessarily that in this large sense there can be no second (comp. v.1). There may be, through the gift of God, a corresponding change, a regaining of the lost view with the consequent restoration of the fulness of life, but this is different from the freshness of the vision through which the life is first realised. The popular idea of repentance, by which it is limited to sorrow for the past, has tended to obscure the thought

Delitzsch, however, contends that there is no prospect of restoration for the apostates depicted in Hebrews 6: “‘No more salvation’ [says the writer of the epistle], ‘for those who, having learned by the Holy Ghost to know Jesus as the very Son of God, assume the same position toward their Saviour as those unbelievers who brought Him to the But what, then, of Peter? He fully knew Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16); and not by mere human insight, but by divine revelation: “Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” And what holy privilege was his! On the mount, with James and John, he beheld His glory—the glory as of the only begotten of the Father—and he heard the Voice out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son” (Matthew 17:5). And yet, in the hour of trial, he denied even the remotest acquaintance with Jesus: “I do not know the man!”—as though He were quite an ordinary person, thus conceding that the judgment of His enemies was, in his opinion, entirely correct. How persistent he was in his denial—three times! And how deliberate and emphatic was his denial! He cursed and swore under oath, “I know not the man!”

And yet, Peter found forgiveness. Is that not encouraging for us all, as we think of the many times and ways we have so shamefully denied our holy Savior? Have we not sworn by deed and life, if not in word, “I know not the man”? Have we no need to go out and weep bitterly with Peter? But still He comes—the Man of Sorrows, forever scarred—and gently asks, “Lovest thou Me?”

To every weary prodigal—disillusioned, hungry, heartsick of the far country—the Savior offers precious encouragement and assurance that the Father longs for his return. There is room for him in the old, accustomed place at the Father’s table, where there is bread enough and to spare—Living Bread broken for us, of which we may eat and live forever. Even now, the Father watches for his return. He has but to rise and return in humble confession, “Father, I have sinned—against heaven, and in Thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son.” With what compassion the Father will welcome him! How fervent will be His embrace and kiss! With what joy will He cry, “Bring forth the best robe—the righteousness of Christ; put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. Let us eat and be merry! For this, My son, was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found!”

Bultmann, TDNT 1:707.

Lange at https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/lcc/1-samuel-2.html.

WP 4:53.

used in this treatise is a comprehensive term embracing any departure from God and saving grace, whether deliberate or casual.

to the assumptions of some, Romans 11:20–23 does not concern Israel and the Gentiles corporately, but Jews and Gentiles as individuals. For a discussion of the significance of Romans 9–11, see the online Supplement.

our full discussion on Romans 11:17–24, in chapter 6.

WP 4:113.

WP 6:67. The duty of believers to recover those who err from the truth and depart from the faith is emphasized in other passages, e.g., Matthew 18:10–14; 2Timothy 2:25, 26 [note context, v. 18], Jude 22–23, and Galatians 6:1.

1892: 210.

1903: 152.

1903: 153.

also the discussion of Hebrews 6 from Brian Abasciano at https://evangelicalarminians.org/brian-abasciano-my-argument-for-apostasy-not-being-irremediable-in-hebrews-6/ and Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once For 382–383.

1901: 457–461.

1903: 329.

Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Sec. 98.

Sec. 133.

Maclaren at https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mac/ephesians-2.html.

1872: 708.

405.

WP 1:222–223.

1903: 410–411.

1882: 453 f.

1903: 152.

1874: 1:293–294.

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Abbreviations

AB	Anchor Bible
Abbott-Smith	G. Abbott-Smith. A Manuel Greek Lexicon of the New New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922.
ACNT	Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament
ANTC	Abingdon New Testament Commentaries
ABCS	Asia Bible Commentary Series
BAGD	A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian by W. Bauer, W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker, 2d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.
BCBC	Believers Church Bible Commentary
BDAG	A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian by W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, 3d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
BECNT	Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
BHBNT	Baylor Handbook Greek New Testament
BKC	The Bible Knowledge Editors: JohnF. Walvoord and RoyB. Zuck. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983.
BKWS	The Bible Knowledge Word Study: Editor: DarrellL. Bock. Colorado Springs: Victor, 2006.
Bloomfield	S.T. Bloomfield. A Greek and English Lexicon to the New London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, 1840.
BNTC	Black’s New Testament Commentaries
BSac	Bibliotheca Sacra
BST	The Bible Speaks Today
BTDB	Baker Theological Dictionary of the Editor: WalterA. Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996.
CBC	Cornerstone Biblical Commentary
CBLNT	The Complete Biblical Library: New Testament Study Bible, 9 vols. International Editor: Thoralf Gilbrant. Executive Editor: RalphW. Harris. Springfield: The Complete Biblical Library, 1989–1990.
CBL-GED	The Complete Biblical Library: Greek-English Dictionary, 6 vols. International Editor: Thoralf Gilbrant. Executive Editor: Ralph W. Harris. Springfield: The Complete Biblical Library, 1990–1991.
CC	Concordia Commentary
CCSS	Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture
CPNIVC	The College Press NIV Commentary
Cremer	Hermann Cremer. Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Translated by William Urwick. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1878.
DJG	Dictionary of Jesus and the Editors: JoelB. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992.
DJG2	Dictionary of Jesus and the Second Edition. Editors: Joel B. Green, JeannineK. Brown and Nicholas Perrin. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,
DLNTD	Dictionary of Later New Testament and Its Editors: RalphP. Martin and PeterH. Davids. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
DOTP	Dictionary of the Old Testament Editors: DesmondT. Alexander and DavidW. Baker. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003.
DPL2	Dictionary of Paul and His Second Edition. Editors: Scot McKnight, LynnH. Cohick, NijayK. Gupta. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023.
DTIB	Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Editors: Kevin Vanhoozer, Craig Bartholomew, Daniel Treier, and N.T. Wright. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2005.
EBC	Expositor’s Bible Commentary
EBCRev	Expositor’s Bible Commentary Revised Edition
ECC	Eerdmans Critical Commentary
EDNT	Exegetical Dictionary of the New Editors: Horst Balz, Gerhard Schneider, 3 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990–1993
EDT	Evangelical Dictionary of Editor: WalterA. Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1984.
EGGNT	Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament.
EQ	Evangelical Quarterly
F&M	Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, NevaF. Miller. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
FVES	Four Views on Eternal Editor: J. Matthew Pinson. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
FVRW	Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Editor: AlanP. Stanley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.
FVWP	Four Views on the Warning Passages in Editor: HerbertW. Bateman IV. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007.
Gingrich	F. Wilbur Gingrich. Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957, 1965.
GNTC	Grace New Testament Volume 2: Romans—Revelation. Editor: RobertN. Wilken. Denton: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010.
HSB	Hard Sayings of the One Volume Edition. WalterC. Kaiser Jr., PeterH. Davids, F.F. Bruce, ManfredT. Brauch. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
HNTC	Harper’s New Testament Commentaries
ICC	International Critical Commentary
ISBTP	An Inquiry into Soteriology from a Biblical Theological Editors: JohnE. Hartley and R. Larry Shelton. Anderson: Warner Press, 1981.
IVPNTC	InterVarsity Press New Testament Commentary
JETS	Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JSNTSup	Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series
L&N	Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Based on Semantic 2d ed., 2 vols. New York: United Bible Society, 1989.
LABC	Life Application Bible Commentary: Editors: Bruce B. Barton, DavidR. Veerman, and Neil Wilson. Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 1992.
LC	The Lutheran Commentary
LSNTC	Life in the Spirit New Testament Editors: FrenchL. Arrington and Roger Stronstad. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.
LWC	Living Word Commentary
MBC	Moody Bible Editors: Michael Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham. Chicago: Moody, 2014.
MCB	Mercer Commentary on the Editors: WatsonE. Mills and RichardF. Wilson. Macon: Mercer University Press, 1995.
MNTC	The Moffatt New Testament Commentary
Moulton	H.K. Moulton. The Analytical Greek Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978.
Mounce’s	Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Editor: WilliamD. Mounce. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.
NAC	New American Commentary
NBBC	New Beacon Bible Commentary
NBC	The New Bible Revised. Editors: D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970.
NCBC	New Century Bible Commentary
NCCS	New Covenant Commentary Series
NIB	The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes
NIB1	The New Interpreter’s Bible One-Volume Commentary
NIBC	New International Biblical Commentary
NICNT	New International Commentary on the New Testament
NIDNTT	New International Dictionary of New Testament 4 vols. Editor: Colin Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967–1971.
NIDCC	New International Dictionary of The Christian Revised Edition. Editor: J.D. Douglas. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974, 1978.
NIGTC	New International Greek Testament Commentary
NIVAC	NIV Application Commentary
NJBC	The New Jerome Biblical Editors: Raymond E. Brown, JosephA. Fitzmyer, RolandE. Murphy, and Carlo Maria Martini. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1990.
NTC	New Testament Commentary
NTL	New Testament Library
OBC	The Oxford Bible Editors: John Barton and John Muddiman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
OEBT	The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Editor: SamuelE. Balentine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
PCNT	Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament
PC	Pentecostal Commentary
PNTC	Pillar New Testament Commentary
Renn	Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word Studies for Key English Bible Words Based on the Hebrew and Greek Editor: StephenD. Renn. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2005.
RHBC	Randall House Bible Commentary
Robinson	Edward Robinson. A Greek and English Lexicon of the New A New Edition, Revised. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1877.
R&R	CleonL. Rogers Jr., and Cleon Rogers III. The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.
SHBC	Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary
SP	Sacra Pagina
Strong’s	James Strong. Strong’s Complete Word Study Expanded Edition. Editor: Warren Baker. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2004.
Thayer	A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament being Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Translated, revised, and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977.
THNTC	The Two Horizons New Testament Commentary
TNTC	Tyndale New Testament Commentary
TTTC	Teaching the Text Commentary Series
TWBC	The Wycliffe Bible Editors: CharlesF. Pfeiffer and EverettF. Harrison. Chicago: Moody Press, 1962.
TrinJ	Trinity Journal
TynBul	Tyndale Bulletin
UBC	Understanding the Bible Commentary Series
WBC	Word Biblical Commentary
WBD	Wycliffe Bible Editors: CharlesF. Pfeiffer, HowardF. Vos, John Rea. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008.
WOVC	Wesley One Volume Editors: KennethJ. Collins and RobertW. Wall. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2020.
ZECNT	Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

English Bible Translations

	21st Century King James Version
ASV	American Standard Version (1901)
Cassirer	H.W. Cassirer, God’s New Covenant. A New Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
CSB	Christian Standard Bible
CEB	Common English Bible
CJB	Complete Jewish Bible
DLNT	Disciples’ Literal New Testament
EHV	Evangelical Heritage Version
ESV	English Standard Version (2001)
GW	God’s Word
GNT	Good News Translation
HCSB	Holman Christian Standard Bible
ISV	International Standard Version
KJV	King James Version
LEB	Lexham English Bible
Montgomery	Helen Barrett Montgomery, The New Testament in Modern Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1924.
MRINT	Mounce Reverse Interlinear New Testament
	New American Standard Bible (1995)
NASB	New American Standard Bible (2020)
NCV	New Century Version
NET	Net Bible
	New International Version (1984)
NIV	New International Version (2011)
NKJV	New King James Version
NLT	New Living Translation
NRSV	New Revised Standard Version (1989)
NTE	New Testament for Everyone (by N.T. Wright 2011)
RGT	Revised Geneva Translation
RSV	Revised Standard Version
Verkuyl	Gerrit Verkuyl, Berkeley Version of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1945.
Williams	CharlesB. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the Chicago: Moody Press, 1950.
Wuest	KennethS. Wuest, The New Testament: An Expanded Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961. Reprinted 2002.
YLT	Young’s Literal Translation (1862/1898)

translations were obtained at www.biblegateway.com except for Cassirer, Montgomery, Verkuyl, Williams, and Wuest.

Greek-English Interlinear/Literal Translations

	Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Third Edition, 2012. Translator: GaryF. Zeolla.
FNT	Faithful New Translator: William Wilde Zeitler.
	The New Greek-English Interlinear New Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publisher, 1990. Translators: RobertK. Brown and PhilipW. Comfort.
	The Interlinear Parallel New Testament in Greek and Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993. Translator: Alfred Marshall.
	The Greek English Interlinear New Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994. Translators: ArthurL. Farstad, ZaneC. Hodges, C. Michael Moss, RobertE. Picirilli, WilberN. Pickering.
	Interlinear Greek-English New Third Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996. Translator: JayP. Green,
	The Greek-English Interlinear ESV New Wheaton: Crossway, 2018. Editor: DraytonC. Benner.
McReynolds	Word Study Greek-English New Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999. Translator: Paul R. McReynolds.
Thornhill	New Testament Translation (unpublished), Translator: A. Chadwick Thornhill.

www.faithfulbible.com.

provides a “Literal Translation” in this work that matches closely with his Interlinear translation but is intended to be easier to read.

at: http://works.bepress.com/acthornhill/14/.

Index of Scripture References

GENESIS

1:26–28 93

1:31 118

2:16, 17 28

2:17 29

3:15 29

3:21 29

4:4 29

6:6 432

9:4 474

10:19 213

13:10 213

17:8 307

18:20 213

18:32 213

19:24 213

19:28 213

27:33 547

EXODUS

3:8 130

4:22 308

6:7 307

16:7–9 317

16:12 317

17:1–7 271

20:3–5 344

20:4 340

20:5 343

20:25 122

29:45 307

32 340

32:1 340

32:6 340

32:8 131

34:14 343

NUMBERS

14 281

14:9 273

14:11 271

15:4 307

15:27–29 403

15:30 403

15:30–31 404

17:5 317

17:10 317

25:10–17 344

DEUTERONOMY

4:1 140

4:19 343

4:24 343

5:7–9 344

5:9 343

6:4, 5 496

6:14, 15 343

7:9 232

7:26 132

9:16 131

12:23 474

13:6 269

13:10, 13 116

14:1 295

17:2–7 413

22:13–21 122

23:19 232

29:13 307

29:17 334

29:23 213

30:1 84

30:10 77

31:6 513

31:8 513

32 232

32:3–4 220

32:5 318

32:6 295

32:15 116

32:17 343

32:19 295

32:19, 20 308

32:19–21 344

32:32 213

JUDGES

16:20 490

1SAMUEL

2:25 534

3:14 535

1CHRONICLES

16:26 343

28:9 513

29:10 295

2CHRONICLES

15:2 513

EZRA

8:22 513

PSALMS

2:11, 12 316

9:10 513

19:12, 13 490

19:13 403

51:17 545

78:58 344

82:6 295

85:10 31

87 296

90:11 215

95:7–11 274

95:12–19 271

103:13 295

106:28 344

106:36, 37 343

115:4–8 334

135:15–18 334

PROVERBS

26:11 164

27:14 278

SONG OF SOLOMON

14:7 507

15:12 213

ISAIAH

1:2 295

1:4 544

1:9,10 213

8:19 343

13:19 213

19:3 343

27:12 111

30:1, 9 295

41:9 269

41:29 342

42:1–7 493

43:6 295

44:9–17 342

45:11 295

49:1–12 493

52:13–53:12 493

53:6 270

53:10, 12 31

55:1 293

55:6, 7 548

57:3 430

59:20 432

61:1, 2 493

63:8, 16 295

63:10 251

63:16 295

64 499

64:6 19

64:8 295

66:24 412

JEREMIAH

2:2 121

2:3 455

2:19 418

2:30 455

3:4, 19 295

3:6–9 121

3:14 116

3:20 430

7:8–15 258

7:23 307

7:27–29 455

8:6 432

10:3–11 342

10:5 334

11:4 307

13:9 387

14:10–12 418

18:5–10 77

18:8 432

23:14 213

24:7 307

29:22 111

30:22 307

31:9 295

31:33 307

32:38 307

49:18 213

50:40 213

EZEKIEL

3:19 432

8:3 344

11:20 307

14:11 307

16 24

16:23 121

16:38 430

18:20–24 445

18:20 20

23:45 430

34:2 194

34:23 194

36:25–27 295

36:28 307

37:23, 27 307

HOSEA

1–2 124

1:6 154

1:10 308

4:6 154

6:1 548

6:11 111

8:6 269

11 498

11:1 308

AMOS

2:4 269

4:11 213

ZECHARIAH

8:8 307

12:10 406

13:6 170

13:7 169

MALACHI

1:6 295

2:10 295

2:10–12 121

MATTHEW

1:21 476

3:2 211

3:7 215

3:8–12 109

3:10 412

3:12 412

4:17 211

4:23–25 88

5:5 141

5:8 462

5:9 308

5:20 216

5:22 412

5:22–24 211

5:25, 26 88

5:27–30 303

5:29–30 203

5:47 211

6:9 267

6:12 156

6:24 487

7:3–5 211

7:11 267

418

7:14 204

7:15, 16 110

7:20 84

140

7:21–23 419

7:21–24 216

7:23 305

7:24–27 88

7:27 88

8:11, 12 185

8:12 109

10 219

10:2–4 210

10:5–15 210

10:8, 9 206

10:10 166

10:13 391

10:14 211

10:14, 15 213

10:16–33 206

10:17–23 211

10:18 211

10:22 427

10:24–26 32

10:24–31 214

10:28 331

10:28, 39 331

10:32, 33 222

10:33 229

10:35 211

10:40–42 213

10:42 357

11:28 24

11:28, 29 487

11:28–30 77

11:29 24

12:30 487

12:31, 32 534

12:32 534

12:39 121

12:45 249

12:49 211

13:4–15 84

13:18–23 84

13:20–21 331

13:21 201

13:24–30 111

13:36–43 111

13:37–42 202

13:37–43 111

13:40 109

13:40–42 326

13:41 216

13:42 412

13:42, 50 411

13:47–50 111

13:49, 50 418

13:50 111

16:4 121

16:16 549

16:18 386

17:5 549

18:1–35 200

18:3 140

18:5, 10 206

18:5–9 200

18:5–14 200

18:6 349

18:6, 7 331

18:6–9 326

18:7 326

18:8 412

18:8, 9 412

18:10–14 538

18:10–15 187

18:14 188

18:15, 35 211

18:15–17 207

18:21–35 265

18:35 96

19:16, 17 204

19:17 203

19:23, 24 140

19:26 548

19:29 140

22:13 109

22:37, 38 496

22:37–40 94

23:1–3 16

23:8 211

23:13–15, 27–29 94

23:15 94

23:28 217

23:33 94

24 93

24:4 269

24:4 ff. 205

24:4, 24 205

24:5 206

24:9, 10 206

24:9–13 265

24:9–19 85

24:10 201

24:10–12 8

24:13 427

24:14, 50 416

24:42–51 265

24:51 94

25:12 216

25:30 109

25:31 501

25:34 507

25:34–46 436

25:40 211

25:41 499

25:41, 46 411

25:46 501

27:3 545

27:4 533

27:46 31

27:64 245

27:65, 66 245

28:10 211

MARK

1:15 298

3:14 107

3:29 543

4:9 119

4:17 86

4:24, 25

4:29 111

6:12 211

7:15–19 324

7:20–23 424

7:21–23 171

8:15 92

8:31–33 26

8:34–38 25

8:34 ff. 45

8:35 321

8:38 229

9 168

9:42 349

9:42–48 303

9:43, 48 412

9:43–47 412

9:43–50 170

9:44, 46 169

9:45, 47 109

9:45–48 109

9:47, 23–25 140

9:48 169

10:15 140

10:17 507

12:1–12 306

12:38 92

13:13 427

14:27 169

16:16 454

LUKE

1:6 536

2:34 536

3:9, 17 412

3:17 412

4:1–13 83

4:2, 13 82

6:13 107

6:46 488

8:4–8 81

8:6 81

8:11–15 81

8:13 270

8:14 82

8:15 84

8:17, 25 140

8:18 92

8:20–21 84

8:21 84

9:23, 24 476

9:23–26 56

9:24 331

9:48 82

9:54 111

10:7 166

10:25 501

10:28 150

11:27, 28 84

11:28 84

12:4, 5 109

12:4–7 215

12:8, 9 215

12:9 229

12:8–10 56

12:10 543

12:35–41 89

12:35–46 265

12:42–46 232

12:46 416

13:3 331

13:3, 5 331

13:25, 27 305

13:28 109

13:28, 29 185

14:16–24 32

14:25–35 23

14:27 476

17:1 331

17:1, 2 326

17:2 132

17:3–4 433

17:22–30 82

17:29 411

17:33 331

18:17 82

18:18 501

19:10 476

20:35 224

21:5–27 82

21:5–37 83

21:8 270

21:34–36 93

22:28 82

22:31 32

22:37 306

22:40, 46 82

23:34 511

23:46 31

24:27, 45 166

24:47 486

JOHN

1:1–18 101

1:9 302

1:11 297

1:12 329

1:13 329

1:14 290

3:1 ff. 297

3:3, 6 301

3:3–8 295

3:5 406

3:5–8 301

3:14–15 191

3:14–16 177

3:15 330

3:15, 36 331

476

3:16 530

3:16, 17 206

3:18 191

3:18, 19 177

3:19–21 302

3:36 476

4:7, 12 289

4:10 357

4:13, 14 289

4:14 293

4:22 436

5:21, 26 41

5:24 426

5:25 150

5:28, 29 480

5:40 32

6 187

6:22–59 42

6:28, 29 18

6:29, 54 47

6:33, 58 44

6:35 476

6:35–40 329

6:37 416

6:38–40 389

6:39 188

6:39, 40 190

6:40 205

6:44 184

6:45 179

6:47 530

6:48, 56–58 43

6:48–58 476

6:50 149

6:51–58 109

6:53–58 177

6:54 191

6:54, 56 292

6:54–56 518

6:56 106

6:58 488

6:61 201

6:65 179

6:70 107

7:9 290

7:37 293

7:37, 38 293

7:50 297

8:12 530

8:21 149

8:23, 44 305

8:24 149

8:31 199

8:31, 51 530

8:33–42 299

8:38, 44 202

8:44 299

8:51 532

9:5 302

9:41 194

10:6 194

10:7–15, 27–30 194

10:10 329

10:11 194

10:12 197

10:27, 28 190

10:27–29 476

10:27–30 389

10:28 331

10:38 105

11:25, 26 488

11:25, 26 150

11:26 197

11:40 290

11:42 512

12:25, 26 476

12:31 109

12:32 179

12:35, 36 302

12:36 301

12:46 302

12:47 476

13–17 105

13:5–11 442

13:10 101

13:18 107

13:21–30 101

13:34 164

13:34–35 531

14:1–3 46

14:1 101

14:6 476

14:10 100

14:12 530

14:20 99

14:21, 23 512

14:21–24 530

14:23 512

14:23, 24 101

14:26 248

15 187

15:1 101

15:1–5 483

15:1–6 518

15:1–8 476

15:1–11 100

15:2 74

15:2, 6 483

15:4 105

15:4 513

15:4, 5 301

15:4–6 509

15:5 503

15:6 541

15:6 104

15:8 301

15:8–10 14

15:9, 10 512

15:9–14 530

15:13, 14 25

15:18–16:4 102

15:26, 27 248

16:1 256

16:8–15 101

16:13 248

17:3 298

17:6 512

17:11, 15 511

17:12 512

17:21 99

18:11 289

19:34–37 406

19:39–42 297

20:30, 31 48

20:31 177

21:15–17 218

ACTS

1:2 107

1:8 248

2:4 406

2:19 411

2:23 49

2:38, 39 406

2:44 82

3:15 476

3:19 432

4:4 82

4:12 476

6:7 543

7:10 130

7:34 130

8:12 82

8:14 82

8:20 160

8:37–38 82

10:43 476

11:1 82

11:15–18 406

11:21–23 53

11:23 55

13:2 248

13:10 125

13:12 82

13:23 55

13:23–26 476

13:26 55

13:38, 39 476

13:39 38

13:40, 41 92

13:42, 43 55

13:48 82

14:19 55

14:20–22 524

14:21, 22 55

14:22 527

15:2 17

15:5 543

15:6–11 17

15:9 268

15:9 28

15:11 476

16:30 51

16:30–31 82

16:31 476

16:32 52

16:32–34 52

17:1 f. 82

17:16 335

17:28 28

17:30 486

17:31 480

18:1–8 257

18:24 391

19:24, 25 336

20:18–20 477

20:19 82

20:21 546

20:24 234

20:25–32 475

20:28–32 201

20:30 476

20:32 475

21:21 263

21:28 406

24:15 480

24:25 160

26:12 ff. 463

26:17, 18 476

26:18 463

28:27 432

ROMANS

1:2 166

1:7 146

1:8 146

1:16 540

1:17 249

1:18–32 151

1:18–2:8 254

1:24, 28 535

1:28–31 393

1:29 393

1:32 436

2:1 328

2:4 545

2:4, 5 433

2:7 145

2:9, 10 210

2:12 331

3:3–4 232

3:3–8 472

3:8 125

3:10 19

3:21–31 236

3:22 515

3:26 31

4:3, 24 75

4:11 59

4:13 501

4:24 59

5:1, 2 225

5:2 370

5:9, 10 476

5:10 516

5:16 328

5:18 328

5:21 145

6 332

6:1 64

6:5 361

227

6:8 227

6:11–13 434

6:14 433

6:16 436

6:19 438

6:19–23 438

6:21–23 437

6:22, 23 145

6:23 445

7:5 437

7:7 18

7:9 149

7:10 426

8 503

8:1 328

8:1–13 463

8:4 248

8:6 426

8:9 406

8:10, 11 361

8:11 361

8:12, 13 503

8:13 504

8:14–18 306

8:15 130

8:16 532

8:16–17 239

8:17 501

8:17, 18 507

8:17–25 248

8:18 ff. 239

8:19 308

8:21–25 225

8:23 247

8:23, 25 319

503

8:24 57

8:25 495

8:28 501

8:28–39 504

8:29, 30 525

8:30–39 330

8:31 389

8:34 328

8:35–39 497

8:37–39 199

8:38, 39 147

9–11 535

9:22 417

9:24 130

9:32, 33 331

9:33 75

10:1 436

10:4 38

10:9 75

10:9–13 476

10:10 436

10:11 75

11:9 331

11:11 436

11:14 119

11:16–24 79

11:17 536

11:17–24 536

11:19–22 527

11:20 370

11:20–22 504

11:20–23 541

11:21–24 75

11:22 371

11:22, 23 64

11:23–24 78

11:26 416

11:32 536

12:1, 2 312

12:2 302

13:11 436

13;12, 13 151

13:13 388

13:14 489

14 331

14:1–23 322

14:1–15:13 330

14:4 370

14:10–12 504

14:13 504

14:13–23 333

14:14 370

14–15 334

14:15 504

14:15, 20 329

14:20, 21 504

14:23 504

15:1–3 333

15:1–13 323

15:12 536

15:26, 27 73

I6:17 331

6:17–18 326

1CORINTHIANS

1:7 238

1:7–9 231

1:10–12 377

1:10–17 257

1:11, 12 385

1:16, 17 75

1:17, 21 377

1:18 388

1:18–21 476

1:18–2:16 257

1:21 540

1:23 331

1:30 515

2:1–5 378

2:9 499

3:1–3 376

3:1–4 392

3:1–17 394

3:1–27 257

3:3 391

3:4 391

3:5–9 380

3:5–4:5 380

3:6 84

3:13 411

3:14 411

3:10–15 395

3:15 109

3:16, 17 452

3:17 394

3:18, 19 378

4:5 384

4:15 537

5 202

5:1–13 386

5:5 502

6 258

6:1–11 454

6:1–20 257

6:5 257

6:8–10 257

6:9 437

6:9, 10 507

6:9–11 264

6:10 438

6:11 257

6:12–20 370

7:16 119

7:18, 19 135

7:19 164

8–10 367

8:1 393

8:1–11 351

8:1–13 370

8:7 257

8:7–13 354

8:9 382

8:9–13 394

8:10, 11 334

8:11 329

8:11–13 372

8:13 358

9 365

9:1–27 394

9:9 365

9:14 365

9:19–23 338

9:22 119

9:24, 25 365

9:24 365

9:24–27 368

9:25 365

9:26 f. 144

9:26, 27 355

9:27 357

10:1–12 369

10:1–13 419

10:1–14 368

10:1–22 372

10:4 291

10:5 418

10:6–13 340

10:7 340

10:9, 10 329

10:12 502

10:13 231

10:14 335

10:18 92

10:19, 20 341

10:19–22 343

10:31 359

10:31–11:1 372

11 460

11:1 394

11:17–34 450

11:18 452

11:19 452

11:19–34 257

11:20–22 452

11:22 452

11:27–29 452

11:29 453

11:31, 32 453

11:32 453

12:1 ff. 248

12:2 334

12:13 406

13:1–7 372

13:12 452

14:3 383

14:4 383

14:22 58

15 365

15:1, 2 527

15:1–11 59

15:1–18 206

15:2 365

15:2, 11 59

15:3–4 166

15:10 380

15:12 119

15:18 331

15:20–26, 50–57 362

15:20–57 369

15:21–23 495

15:21–54 247

15:21–55 209

15:21–58 239

15:33, 34 257

15:34 391

15:35–53 319

15:42 145

15:49 495

15:50 507

15:50–54 501

15:52 365

15:57 529

16:4 259

16:13 370

2CORINTHIANS

1:1 120

1:5 306

1:6, 10 315

1:9 61

1:18–20 231

1:21, 22 252

1:22 389

1:24 370

2:10 360

2:15 348

2:15, 16 206

2:16 436

3:7 426

3:18 312

4:3 348

4:9 329

4:13 58

4:14 227

4:16 496

4:17 225

5:1–5 247

5:3 64

5:5 257

5:7 532

5:10 510

5:19 56

5:20 435

5:21 30

6:1 435

6:2 315

6:6 120

6:14 435

6:14, 15 243

6:16 334

6:17 295

7:1 435

7:2 390

7:9, 10 546

7:10 436

7:11–12 437

10–13 125

10:8 381

11:1 ff. 390

11:1–5 121

11:1–15 265

11:3 537

11:11 122

11:14, 15 390

11:24, 25 290

11:25 399

12:7–10 61

12:19 383

12:20, 21 455

12:21 537

13:2 538

13:5 538

13:10 381

13:15 8

GALATIANS

1:1–9 130

1:2 125

1:4 398

1:6 390

1:6, 7 55

1:6–9 476

1:8, 9 390

1:22 135

2:3 237

2:4 135

2:13 167

2:14 126

2:15–21 128

2:16 126

2:20 503

3 141

3:1–4 419

3:1–6 55

3:2, 3 145

3:4 64

3:5–14, 21–29 129

3:6–9 367

3:8 166

3:10–12 127

3:11 31

3:13 134

3:14 36

3:18 247

3:18, 19 306

3:22 166

3:23–25 134

3:23–4:7 295

3:24 127

3:26 135

3:27–29 367

3:28 36

4:1–7 130

4:4 398

4:4–6 134

4:7 501

4:8 136

4:8–10 130

4:8–11 123

4:9 127

4:11 419

4:19 419

4:25, 26 127

5 137

5:1 133

5:1–4 370

5:1–6 265

5:2 135

5:2, 3 134

5:2–4 504

5:2, 107

5:3 127

5:3–4 135

5:4 371

5:5, 6 238

5:6 532

5:6–25 463

5:6–6:10 154

5:7–12 55

5:11 311

5:13 143

5:13–25 499

5:13–26 138

5:13–6:10 137

5:15 392

5:16 489

5:16, 24 439

5:16–21 303

5:16–24 391

5:17–25 463

5:19 438

5:19–21 476

5:20, 21 449

5:21 507

5:22 256

6:1, 2 540

6:1–10 138

6:2 164

6:7 430

6:7, 8 439

6:7–11 143

6:8 418

6:11–13 55

6:16 367

EPHESIANS

1:3 36

1:3–4 189

1:4 493

1:13, 14 436

1:14 478

1:15 130

1:19 58

2:1 298

2:1–3 299

2:6 ff. 36

2:8 529

2:8, 9 357

2:8–10 250

381

2:10 328

2:11–22 252

2:13 36

3:2 64

3:14–21 250

3:16, 17 249

3:17 249

4:1 250

4:4 251

4:17–32 251

4:18 31

4:25 256

4:29 256

4:30 389

4:31, 32 256

5 258

5:1 250

5:3 437

5:3–5 392

5:3–6 478

5:3–7 303

5:3–8 171

439

257

5:4 256

5:5 502

5:5, 6 393

5:6 393

5:11 253

5:15–17 256

5:18 248

5:18–21 256

5:25–27 189

5:26 405

5:27 493

6:8 514

6:11 250

6:11, 12 515

6:16–18 250

PHILIPPIANS

1:3–7 313

1:5 312

1:5–7 8

1:6 389

1:10 312

1:19 315

1:21 22

1:27, 28 320

1:27–30 314

1:28 417

1:28–30 56

1:29 306

2:4 315

2:7 358

2:12 316

2:12, 13 315

2:14 317

2:14–17 317

2:15 318

2:16 204

3:2 320

3:3–17 318

3:6 536

3:8, 9 22

3:8 ff. 365

3:8–11 365

3:8–14 364

3:8–17 364

3:8–21 319

3:9 36

3:9–14 209

3:9–21 239

3:10 364

3:10, 11 495

3:11 364

3:12–14 319

3:13, 14 527

3:14 364

3:17 363

3:18, 19 320

3:19 418

3:20, 21 364

4:1 320

4:13 503

4:16 399

6:1 205

COLOSSIANS

1:2 63

1:3–5 65

1:4 64

1:4, 5 70

1:5 507

1:11 70

1:12 463

1:13 348

1:21, 22 506

1:21–23 265

1:22 493

1:23 527

1:27 66

1:28 70

2:4 475

2:5 70

2:8 475

2:10 69

2:12 64

2:18, 19 69

2:20 475

3:1–4 361

3:3 507

3:4 515

3:5, 6 255

251

3:6 140

3:10 302

3:14 155

3:24 247

3:25 514

4:12 70

1THESSALONIANS

1:6 84

1:7 58

1:9 334

2:10 58

2:13 84

2:18 399

3:1–10 511

3:3 56

3:3–4 61

3:5 123

3:8 133

3:11–13 312

4:3 339

4:4–17 227

4:8 252

4:16 364

5:7 93

5:8, 9 315

5:9 57

5:23, 24 511

2THESSALONIANS

1:4, 5 514

1:8 411

1:10 58

2:3 417

2:9–12 535

2:10 331

2:10–12 545

2:13 409

3:2, 3 231

1TIMOTHY

1:3–11 116

1:5 477

1:6 480

1:14 36

1:15 476

1:18 234

1:18, 19 479

1:18–20 477

1:19 481

1:19, 20 478

2:4 407

2:6 31

2:15 119

2:25 407

3:7 407

4:1 532

4:1, 2 265

4:1–3 479

4:1–5 115

4:6–16 119

4:11–16 85

4:16 527

5:12 391

5:15 117

5:17 288

5:18 166

6:3–4 388

6:9 160

6:12 515

6:13 28

6:14 164

6:19 417

2TIMOTHY

1:1 36

1:3–2:13 223

1:8–14 228

1:9 232

1:10 436

1:12 511

1:13 235

1:13–14 511

1:14 235

2:1 36

2:1, 2 223

2:1–3 228

2:1–7 229

2:3 223

2:4–6 223

2:5 355

228

2:9 232

2:10 315

2:10–12 527

2:11 227

2:11–13 244

2:12 513

2:12, 13 472

2:13 232

2:14–17 480

2:15 235

2:15–18 479

2:16 481

2:16–18 117

233

2:17 478

2:18 233

2:17, 18 477

2:18 235

2:19 90

2:22 233

2:25 235

2:25, 26 540

3:1–9 477

3:5–7 154

3:7 407

3:8 235

3:10–17 233

3:13–15 511

3:15 436

3:16 166

4:1 501

4:1–3 477

4:1–5 234

4:3–4 234

4:4 116

4:5 228

4:6–8 234

4:7 509

4:7, 8 357

4:8 357

4:14 478

4:16 511

4:18 506

TITUS

1:1 407

1:1, 2 501

1:2 232

1:8 354

1:14 479

1:15 243

2:11–13 501

2:11–14 462

3:5 301

3:7 507

3:9 388

PHILEMON

10 301

HEBREWS

1 405

1:14 436

1:2 501

1:3 286

1:14 507

2:1 405

2:3 436

2:4 406

2:5 281

2:9–17 268

2:10 493

2:14 436

3 285

3:1 267

3:1–6 268

3:6–14 522

3:6, 14 77

3:7–11 271

3:7–19 270

3:7–4:13 271

3:8 15

3:11 274

3:12 512

3:12, 13 491

3:12, 19 275

3:13 456

3:14 276

3:15–19 271

3:19 273

4:1 281

4:1–13 279

4:2 271

4:3 281

4:5, 6 271

4:9, 10 281

4:10 281

4:11 271 404

4:14–16 268

4:16 402

5:8, 9 530

5:9 476

6 549

6:1 480

6:2 480

6:4 406

6:4–6 540

6:4–8 108

6:4–9 330

6:5 281

6:6 404

6:9 436

6:11, 12 277

6:12 522

6:35 197

6:37 192

6:4–6 547

7:25 476

7:26, 27 400

7:27 397

8:12 400

9:7 399

9:11–28 268

9:12 406

9:13, 14 406

9:14 463

9:15 476

9:20 406

9:23 267

9:25–28 398

9:26 30

9:27, 28 239

9:28 476

10:1 30

10:1, 2 398

10:1–4 399

10:2 399

10:4 30

10:6 194

10:10 400

10:10, 14 461

10:10–14 463

10:11 194

10:11, 12 398

10:12 197

10:14 400

10:17 400

10:19 406

10:22 402

10:23 221

10:24, 25 275

10:26 541

10:26–29 403

10:26–29, 31 534

10:26–30 409

10:26–31 413

10:27–31, 39 418

10:27 412

10:28 197

10:29 542

10:32–39 419

10:35 514

10:35, 38 224

10:36 413

10:37 185

414

10:38 419

10:38, 39 404

10:39 418

11 283

11:4 29

11:8 284

11:10 141

11:13 513

11:16 267

11:24, 25 462

11:25 275

11:39 514

12 460

12:3–11 448

12:4 278

12;4–11 447

12:4–13 456

12:5–13 457

12:14 461

12:14, 15 404

12:16, 17 546

12:17 547

12:21 432

12:22 267

12:22–24 461

12:25 404

12:28 369

12:29 410

13:12 405

13:14 267

14:29 405

JAMES

1:12 428

1:2–4 428

1:12 502

1:12–2:5 428

1:13–16 423

1:14, 15 503

1:15 427

1:16 429

1:18 301

1:21 429

1:22, 26 489

1:26, 27 429

1:27 429

2:1–9 429

2:5 507

2:10 156

2:14–16 429

2:17 84

2:19 81

3:2 156

3:1 395

3:9, 10 429

4:1–10 430

4:4 488

4:7–10 432

4:11, 12 429

4:13–17 429

5:1–6 429

5:9 454

5:11 427

5:12 429

5:16 430

5:19 270

5:19, 20 540

5:20 119

1PETER

1:1, 2 409

1:3 301

1:3–5 389

1:3–9 259

1:4 507

1:4, 5 362

1:5 526

1:6 82

1:6–9 513

1:9 436

1:10 436

1:16 18

1:19 30

1:23 301

2:6, 7 38

2:8 331

2:11 489

2:24 22

3:7 501

3:10–12 419

3:18 22

4:7 92

4:12–14 235

4:19 513

5:4 240

5:10 36

2PETER

1:1 518

1:10 225

1:1–11 265

1:2 , 8 154

1:2–4 162

1:3 407

1:3–11 419

1:5 499

1:5–7 354

1:5–11 155

1:6 354

1:8 483

1:9 158

1:10 158

1:10, 11 157

1:11 515

1:12 166

1:20, 21 166

2 473

2:1 391

2:1, 3 391

2:1, 3:7, 16 417

2:1 ff. 232

2:2 ff. 161

2:3 391

2:4 483

2:6 328

2:7 166

2:9 543

2:11 515

2:12 389

2:13 159

2:14 161

2:15 270

2:15–21 265

2:17 543

2:18 158

2:18–20 163

2:18–22 265

2:19, 20 163

2:19–22 152

2:20 158

2:20, 21 482

2:20–22 419

2:21 227

2:22 164

3:2 164

3:7 543

3:9 486

3:10 416

3:10–14

3:13 501

3:14–18 265

3:15 166

3:15, 16 476

3:16 518

3:17 518

1JOHN

1:5–7 532

1:7 529

1:8 430

1:8, 9 433

1:8–2:2 303

1:9 430

2:3–6 529

2:3–11 303

2:3–5; 3:24 530

2:4 25

2:4–6 489

2:9–11 490

2:15–17 488

2:17 489

2:18, 19 475

2:18–28 539

2:19 388

2:22 161

2:23–25 518

2:24, 25 501

2:24–29 303

2:26 270

2:29 301

2:29–3:10 306

3:2 489

3:3 489

3:6 305

3:6–24 303

3:9 304

3:10 299

3:14 204

3:23 164

3:24 530

4:1 532

4:1–3 539

4:2 161

4:2, 3 539

4:7 301

4:7, 8 303

4:18 301

4:20–5:1 303

5:1, 13 301

5:2 530

5:4 529

5:5 529

5:10 530

5:11 27

5:11, 12 530

5:10–13 177

5:12 204

5:13 529

5:16 539

5:16 436

5:16–17 346

5:18 510

2JOHN

6 164

7–11 475

8 92

JUDE

1 25

3 436

3–4 264

4 483

4–6 21

5 483

6 483

7 412

10 388

11 483

12 482

19–21 510

20, 21 483

21 513

22, 23 540

23 204

24 156

24, 25 507

REVELATION

1:5 515

1:7 406

1:16, 20 483

2 119

2:1–7 475

2:5 443

2:10 515

2:10, 11 440

2:13 235

2:14 326

2:14–17 201

2:16 515

2:18, 19 475

2:20 443

2:20–29 201

2:21 443

2:22 443

2:24, 25 416

3:3 443

3:4 219

3:4, 21 514

3:5 305

3:8, 10 510

3:8–11 305

3:14–22 538

3:16 386

3:18, 19 442

3:19 443

7:14 545

8:5 411

8:7 411

9:17 411

9:20, 21 545

11:5 411

13:13 411

14:3, 4 161

14:3 38

14:9–11 109

14:10 412

14:12 235

14:15 111

14:18 411

15:4 416

16:8 109

16:9, 21 545

17:8, 11 417

17:14 243

18:8 416

18:20 391

18:21 170

19:20 412

20:9 111

20:9 ff. 412

20:10 412

20:10–15 109

20:14 149

20:14, 15 412

21 502

21:1 502

21:1–6 309

21:1–7 441

21:2 141

21:4 204

21:5 398

21:7 502

21:7, 8 440

21:8 516

21:10, 11 502

21:27 502

22 140

22:3–5 243

22:4 462

22:5 229

22:11 405

22:12 357

22:14, 15 441

22:15 454

22:17 293

About the Author

Dr. Robert Shank (1918–2006) ministered for more than sixty years as a preacher, author, and teacher. He was respected internationally among Bible scholars for his significant books in the field of biblical theology, many of which are still used in seminaries and colleges across denominations.

Chapter 1: Life in the Son - Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance (5)

Table of Contents

1.Cover

2.Half Title Page

3.Books by Robert Shank

4.Title Page

5.Copyright Page

6.Contents

7.Foreword

8.Preface

9.Introduction

10.1. By Grace, Through Faith

11.2. The High Cost of a Free Gift

12.3. Life in the Son

13.4. Saving Faith (Part 1)

14.5. Saving Faith (Part 2)

15.6. If You Continue in the Faith

16.7. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 1)

17.8. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 2)

18.9. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 3)

19.10. Can a Believer Become an Unbeliever? (Part 4)

20.11. Security of the Believer—Conditional or Unconditional?

21.12. If We Deny Him

22.13. God Is Faithful

23.14. The Seal of the Spirit

24.15. Apostasy: What Is It? Who Can Commit It?

25.16. Shall Never Thirst

26.17. Born of God

27.18. God’s Good Work

28.19. Destroying God’s Good Work

29.20. The Dangers of Eating Idol Food (Dining with Demons)

30.21. Disqualified for the Prize

31.22. Saved—But Barely

32.23. Once for All

33.24. Absolute Safety and Security for Sinning Christians?

34.25. The Lord Disciplines His Children

35.26. Apostasy: Real or Imaginary?

36.27. We Cannot Serve Two Masters

37.28. The Destiny of Those Loving God

38.29. Kept by the Power of God

39.30. That You May Know That You Have Eternal Life

40.31. Is Apostasy Without Remedy?

41.Bibliography

42.Abbreviations

43.English Bible Translations1

44.Greek-English Interlinear/Literal Translations

45.Index of Scripture References

46.About the Author

47.Back Cover

List of Pages

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