This is a Facebook post by a guy named David Pullman. I thought there were some interesting thoughts. I believe in eternal security, but think it is very strange in the way we talk about it. Also, the idea that after salvation, someone remains saved (no man can pluck him out of my hand, what can separate us from the love of Christ, etc.) even if they commit murder, but as a small child, they can be doomed to hell for stealing a cookie. No matter which conclusion you come to, I know the way we talk about sin is completely wrong.
"I think that many modern evangelicals (especially those of the "once saved, always saved" persuasion) are wrong to point people to the moment they first believed for assurance of salvation. As a pastor's kid, I experienced the (apparently common) phenomenon of persistently doubting my salvation due, in large part, to the sort of preaching to which I was consistently subjected. Scaring people with the prospect of hell is often an effective evangelistic tactic, but it also has the unfortunate result of frequently causing genuine believers to doubt the genuineness of their faith.
When I first expressed my doubts about whether or not I was "saved", my parents would tell me to think back to the time that I first made a profession of faith at Bible camp when I was 10 years old. Unfortunately, the older I got, the fuzzier my memories of that day became. And correspondingly my doubts about if I had really understood the depth of my sins, or if I had believed the right things, or if I mentioned the right things in my prayer began to rise. Pointing me back to the moment of my conversion increasingly began to intensify my doubts rather than to assuage them.
Reading the book of 1 John radically changed my perspective on the issue of assurance of salvation. It fully persuaded me that telling people to look to the moment of their conversion for assurance of salvation is not only harmful and counterproductive, but it is actually unbiblical. Interestingly 1 John never refers readers to the moment they first believed for assurance of salvation. It consistently refers readers to their present faith and present actions which result from faith to assure them of salvation.
"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." 1 John 1:7
"By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:3
"... the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." 1 John 2:23
"Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight." 1 John 3:21-22
"The one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." 1 John 3:24
"By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit." 1 John 4:13
"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments." 1 John 5:2
Consistently 1 John refers readers to their present faith, obedience, and love of God to assure them of salvation. There's never any call to just think back to the time they first believed. Assurance of salvation is found in one's present faith and God's promise to save those who believe. It doesn't depend on you having 'done it the right way' when you first believed. Stop looking at what you did in the past for assurance of your salvation in the present. Stop referring people to what they did in the past for assurance of their present salvation. This is not the biblical way."
No comments:
Post a Comment