"Perseverance of the Saints"

(or "eternal security" or "once saved always saved")

We Speak truth in LOVE

Scriptural refutation of "eternal Security"

Following is a very simple chart which refutes the doctrine of "Once saved, always saved." As you will notice, we have selected the passages which clearly demonstrate that the inspired writers were referring to Christians (children of God). This destroys the very convenient dodge: "If they are lost, they weren't saved to begin with" and/or "If one is a child of God, he could never cease to become a child of God." As shown in the chart, among other things, a child of God can become an "accursed child." Please carefully examine all the passages given in the chart. As shown in those verses, the inspired writers are referring to children of God.

Things Children of God Can Do:

1. Fall from grace - Gal. 5:1-4,13

2. Be led away with error - 2 Pet. 3:17

3. Err from the truth - James 5:19-20

4. Weak brother may perish - 1 Cor. 8:11

5. Fall into condemnation - James 5:12

6. Be moved away from the hope - Col. 1:21-23

7. Deny the Lord who bought them - 2 Pet. 2:1

8. Depart from the living God - Heb. 3:12

9. Can be a castaway - 1 Cor. 9:27

10. Can become accursed children - 2 Pet. 2:14

36 Bible texts that refute "eternal security"

36 Bible texts that refute "eternal security"

Bible Text

Description Of Blood Bought Believer

Description Of Sin

Description After

.

Indicate Those Descriptions You Feel Do Not Refer To Christians But The Lost

.

Indicate Those You Feel Do Not Refer To The Lost, But To Christians

Ezek 3:20; 18:24-26

righteous

turns away, commits iniquity

die in sin

Mt 25:1-13

took lamps and went to meet Christ

5 were foolish

"I do not know you"

Mt 25:14-30

Christ's own slaves

hid talent

wicked lazy, cast into outer darkness, weep & gnash

Lk 8:13

receive word with joy, believe

temptation, persecution

fall away

Lk 9:62

put hands to plow of kingdom

looked back to former life

not fit for kingdom

Lk 12:42-48

steward in charge of Christ's servants

beat slaves, drunkenness

cut in pieces, assign with unbelievers

Jn 15:1-6

branches

does not abide

thrown away, dried up, burnt

Acts 4:32;5:1-11

of those who believed

lied to Holy Spirit

God struck dead

Acts 8:9-24

Simon the sorcerer believed, baptized, received HS

offered money

heart not right, wickedness, gall of bitterness, bond of iniquity

Acts 20:17,28-30

elders, shepherds of church

false doctrine

drawn away

Rom 11:13-23

wild olive, grafted in v17, stand by faith V20

unbelief, not continue V20,22

not spared, cut off V21-22

1 Cor 9:26-27

Apostle Paul, preached to others

body not slave

Paul disqualified

1 Cor 10:1-12

standing (feel they are saved) V12

immorality, crave evil, grumble,

fall V12

Gal 2:11-14

Apostle Peter

false doctrine, hypocrisy

Literal Greek "stood condemned" V11

Gal 5:4

severed & fallen indicates previously joined and standing

seeking to keep OT

severed from Christ, fallen from grace

Gal 6:1

restore indicates once saved

caught in trespass

needed to be restored

1 Ti 1:18-20

Hymenaeus, Alexander: shipwreck indicates they once sailed good.

rejected faith and good conscience, blasphemed

their personal faith shipwrecked, delivered to Satan

1 Ti 4:1

fall away indicates once saved

false doctrine

fall away from faith

1 Ti 5:8

passage addressed to Christians

doesn't provide for family

denied faith, worse than unbeliever

1 Ti 6:10

passage addressed to Christians

love of money

wandered from faith, pierced selves with pangs

2 Ti 2:16-18

Hymenaeus and Philetus: gone astray indicates once correct

False doctrine: resurrection past

gone astray, upset other's faith as well

Heb 3:12

brethren

evil, unbelieving

fall away from God

Heb 4:1-2,11

brethren, addressed to Christians

unbelief, disobey

short of God's rest, fall

Heb 6:4-8

once enlightened, tasted heavenly gift, partakers of HS, Bible & powers to come, renew indicates restore to former cleanness

sin

fallen away, can't renew, crucified Christ again and put in open shame

Heb 10:26-31

received knowledge of truth. no longer remains indicates they once had forgiveness

sinning willfully

no forgiveness of sin, fearful judgment

Heb 10:38-39

God's righteous, Christians

shrinks back

God has no pleasure in him, destruction

Jas 5:19-20

brethren, Christians

strays from truth, sin

soul will die in sins, sinner

1 Pe 5:8

Christians

sin

devoured by devil

2 Pe 2:1

Christians, "among you" had been bought by Christ

false prophets

swift destruction

2 Pe 2:20-22

escaped defilements of world by Christ, entangled again, returns to mire indicates they were once untangled and clean, known way of righteousness, had washed

entangled, overcome, turned away, returns to vomit/mire

last state worse than first, better they never had became Christians

2 Pe 3:17

beloved, Christians

carried away,

fall from own steadfastness

2 Jn 8-9

Christians, have accomplished

not abide in doctrine, false doctrine

lose, no reward doesn't have God

Rev 2:4-5

Christians in Ephesus

left first love

fallen, lampstand removed

Rev 3:5

Christians in Sardis

deeds incomplete

are dead

Rev 3:16-17

Christians in Laodicea

lukewarmness

spit out of Christ's mouth

Indicate Those Descriptions You Feel Do Not Refer To Christians But The Lost

Indicate Those You Feel Do Not Refer To The Lost, But To Christians

Topical organization of scriptures that refute "Eternal Security"

1 Parable of sower

Mark 4:16 (Luke 8:13) "And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; (they believe for a while) and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

2 Fallen from grace passage:

Galatians 5:4 "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."

3 Pruning passages:

John 15:5-6 "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; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."

Romans 11:19-23 "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, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. 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."

4 Hebrews Passages:

Hebrews 6:4-6 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame.

Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries."

Hebrews 10:38-39 "But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul."

5 Doctrinal Apostasy passages:

Acts 20:17,28-30 "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church." ... "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."

1 Timothy 1:18-21 "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"

2 Timothy 2:16-18 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are HYMENAEUS and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some.

1 Timothy 4:1 "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons"

1 Timothy 6:20-21 "O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge"-which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith."

2 Peter 2:1 "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves."

2 Peter 3:17 "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness"

2 John 8-9 "Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son."

6 Moral Apostasy passages:

1 Timothy 6:9-10 "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang."

2 Peter 2:20-22 "For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 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 delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A dog returns to its own vomit," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.""

James 5:19-20 "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins."

7 Revelation passages:

Revelation 2:4-5 "'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 'Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent."

Revelation 3:5 "'He who overcomes shall thus be clothed 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 3:16-17 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked"

8 Old Testament passages

Ezekiel 18:24-26 "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.' Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? "When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die."

Other scriptural arguments that refute "Eternal Security"

A. The fact the Bible exhorts to faithfulness proves one can be lost

be steadfast immovable: 1 Cor 15:58

If these qualities are yours...2 Pe 1:5-11

we will reap if we do not grow weary: Gal 6:9

be faithful unto death and I will give crown of life: Rev 2:10

practice these things and God will be with you: Phil 4:9

B. Man has a free will: Josh 24:15 to argue otherwise is nonsense and is a veiled form of existentialism

C. The Bible clearly prophesied some would fall away: Acts 20:28; 1 Ti 4:1

D. Christians are to restore the fallen: Gal 6:1; Jas 5:19-20

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