The Word of God declares in John 3:18: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” According to this verse, on what basis is an individual...
I distinctly remember sitting in a church pew as a younger man while the preacher confidently proclaimed, “If you can’t remember when you were saved, it might be because you never were.” He went on to argue, “If someone as big as God moves in and you don’t recall when...
Hebrews 5:9 states: “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” At first glance, this passage raises an important question: in what sense must one “obey” Christ to receive eternal salvation? With respect to eternal...
In this article, I have compiled sixty-six passages that explicitly cite faith or belief as the sole condition for the reception of eternal life. This list is by no means exhaustive; it simply demonstrates the uniform testimony of Scripture concerning the instrumental...
In Luke 14:26, Jesus makes a statement that has troubled many readers: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” At first glance, these words...
The Word of God warns us plainly in Jude verse 4: “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus...
The Word of God declares in Ephesians 2: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before...
A verse commonly cited by those who oppose salvation by faith alone is John 6:29, where it is argued that faith itself is a “work.” Jesus says: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” At a surface level, and when stripped of its context,...
If salvation from the penalty of sin is conditioned upon a non-meritorious moment of faith, if justification before God is “not by works of righteousness which we have done,” and if the individual who places their faith in Christ is eternally secure, then why serve...
1. Nothing Can Snatch Us Out of His Hand John 10:27–29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish , neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is...
A phrase in Scripture that is commonly misunderstood is the expression “and thy house” in Acts 16:31. For many believers, these three words prompt a deeply personal question: Will my family be saved by virtue of my faith? In other words, is my household automatically...
A common objection to the doctrine of eternal security is the claim that it violates human free will. The argument typically goes as follows: if a person cannot choose to return the “gift” of eternal life or remove themselves from God’s preserving power, then that...
Throughout the entirety of God’s Word, this question is asked only once in explicit terms: “What must I do to be saved?” Given the widespread confusion surrounding salvation, what more important question could an unsaved individual ask? And what clearer answer could...
1. They Focus on Their Feelings Enamored with their emotions, many derive assurance from feeling rather than fact. Although the objective testimony of God’s Word declares that there is no condemnation for those who trust in Christ alone, believers often allow their...