Do we have eternal life?

A question was recently asked on a networking site. “[I am] still pondering the concept once saved always saved and can you lose your salvation................ any thoughts?”

[NOTE: the persons responding to the question originally, used the New International Version. It is not my personal choice to use that version, but out of deference to these believers, I have chosen to use the New International Version in this discussion.]

One person quoted Hebrews 10:26-27 (New International Version)

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

And,

John 15:5-6 (New International Version)

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”

And,

Revelation 2:4-5 (New International Version)

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

Another said, “read 2 Pet. 2:21, Heb. 6:4-6 and especially Ezek. 18:4-30 along w/the scriptures others have already mentioned.” [Along with some personal comments which I have left out].

Let’s take a look at some of these verses which may shed some light.

Hebrews 6:4-6 states,

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

These verses clearly state that if it were possible to fall away, then there remains no sacrifice for sin.

So, if not "once saved, always saved" then you have NO HOPE!

To arrive at the conclusion that you can lose your salvation, you must assume that keeping your salvation is somehow worked up within you; that you have to do good works in order to remain one of the sheep.

Remember, ALL our righteousness is filthy rags. There is NOTHING we can do to merit salvation - either before or after we are saved. We depend on Christ for salvation and we depend on Him to keep us saved.

John 10 says,

"The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

What is eternal life? (Hint: it lasts forever). You cannot have eternal life and then have it taken from you. No man, not even you, are able to take a person, even yourself, out of the Father's hand.

If our salvation were dependent on our good works then it is no longer a gift, but rather something we can earn.

Now, these verses quoted above cannot be talking about the sheep.

Let's look at each one. First, Hebrews 10:26-27 (New International Version)

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth..."

I John in chapter 2 says,

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him."

This does not speak of LOSING your salvation, but rather of never having it in the first place. Notice John is writing to “my dear children”, in other words, he is speaking to those who have come to know Christ due to the Spirit working through John. He says you know that you know Him (Christ) if you obey His commands. In other words the Spirit does good works through those that know Him. (Remember, all OUR righteousness is filthy rags, and only the Spirit’s work through this vessel of clay is of any value).

The scripture here goes on to say, “The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. This implies that there are those who CLAIM to know him but have never really become part of the family. They know OF Him, they have the knowledge, but they never accepted the gift from Him.

Hebrews chapter 10 quoted above is telling us that if we have received the knowledge of truth and do not repent, eventually God will ignore us and we will forfeit the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life.

Now let’s take a look at the Vine. For John 15 to make sense you must understand the vine. Each example Christ gives relates to the people of the day. He is speaking to farmers who understand that "the branches" that bear fruit were grafted into a strong base plant that had good roots. If it "does not remain" means that it was never properly grafted in. In other words it never became part of the vine (root base) to begin with. So of course it would wither and die.

Revelation 2 is interesting. This verse is often interpreted as meaning that you will be removed from the presence of God, but again must be interpreted with other scripture.

Jesus is speaking in chapter 2 about the lampstand, (candlestick or oil lamp). Let's look at some other words of His concerning lights.

Matthew 5:15

“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Mark 4:21

“He said to them, ‘Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?’”

Luke 8:16

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.”

These are parallel passages all talking about a lamp or lampstand. Note that the lamp or “light” as some other versions translate it, is not the person but rather the witness or testimony of that person. Take time to look up other passages that speak of lamps, such as ones that speak of the bridesmaids being ready when the bridegroom comes.

Now let’s go back to Revelation chapter 2. This section reveals Christ speaking to the churches of John’s day. Remember that John was on the Isle of Patmos, and all these churches listed were ones that existed then and were near that island. John would have been to most if not all these prior to being exiled. All through this section we read about the candlesticks, or “lampstands”. In chapter one verse 20 we are told what the lampstands are. “The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[c] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” So we see that the lampstand is not an individual Christian, but the assembly. In the case quoted earlier from chapter 2, we see that is specifically the church or assembly at Ephesus that is being spoken of. So Christ is saying to the assembly at Ephesus, that if they don’t start doing the “first things” again He will remove the church at Ephesus from its place – in other word, the church at Ephesus will cease to be, or at least cease to be a witness.

So we can see by the context of this passage that the “lampstand” mentioned is the church as a corporate body or local assembly, not a person. This has nothing whatever to do with an individual and their standing with Christ.

Now, remember the sheep? We talked about the sheep earlier. Let’s get back to the shepherd and his sheep.

The Bible is literally FULL of references to sheep and shepherds. Why? It is because, along with grapes and olives, sheep were a big part of the economy of that era. Let’s look at some passages about sheep.

Here’s the passage from John 10.

”I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

And then continuing on lets look at verses 25 through 30.

Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Look at the context here. Who is Jesus speaking to? Well, to know that we have to go to the context again. Remember, when the Bible was written there were not chapter designations. Look at chapter nine and you will see that Jesus is having a conversation with the Pharisees; the unbelieving rulers of the Jews. So we must look at this passage in that context. He is contrasting His care for His sheep to their supposed care for the Jewish community of the day. He calls them thieves and robbers and false shepherds and calls Himself the true shepherd.

Notice in this passage the entire focus is on the Shepherd not the sheep.

If you know anything about raising sheep you know that they are very dumb, stubborn and lazy animals. They must be led to a place to eat, and led to a place to drink, and kept in a pen of some sort, that can be secured, or they will wander off.

Isn’t that just like us! It is no accident that we are called the sheep of God. But back to the Shepherd. It’s all about Him and what He does to care for, protect and KEEP His sheep. We cannot keep ourselves, we’re SHEEP. We will fail every day every time. It is only through the Shepherd that we have hope of being kept.

What gives us strength to obey? Is it something we “work up” within ourselves? Have you tried that? Does it work for you? Not for long!

We can’t DO anything in this flesh that is profitable. Romans 3:9 says,

“What shall we conclude then? Are we any better [than the Jews]? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

This is the condition of man while on this earth. We cannot of ourselves do any good. We can only do good works as the Spirit works through us. Let’s compare Romans chapter 8.

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

I put the whole passage here because I think is important to see the contrast of our flesh versus the Spirit working through us. Note phrases such as, “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” So, the works of the flesh produce death, but the works of the Spirit through us bring righteousness. Oh, and note the verse prior to that.

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

So, again it is the Spirit living through us that does the good works.

The conclusion is this.

If we have a view that we must work to maintain our standing with Christ then all hope is lost, because it is impossible for any man to do that. So then if that is true, we will all fall short and not measure up and be sentenced to death forever.

IF however, we have the view that it is all the Spirit working through us, and that the only righteousness ever produced through Christians is by the Spirit working through a surrendered mortal body and soul, then we can depend on the Shepherd to keep us. We cannot keep ourselves in the pen, we cannot feed ourselves, clothe ourselves, and drink for ourselves. We must submit and surrender to the Shepherd and allow the Spirit of the Shepherd to have place in our daily life.

Salvation is not just that we were lost and now are found; it is also that we are kept by the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. HE does the keeping, not us.