What is the believer to be mostly assured of in the Faith?—“eternal salvation.” Nothing within the biblical doctrine of Soteriology can have even a scintilla of meaning if it rests apart from supporting the truth that “He who promised is faithful” (vs 23). “Promised” what? What in all existence has the greatest significance? Is it not endless fellowship with God! Thus, eternal life—via salvation—is the most important promise.
The two most often discussed issues on this subject are when the gift of eternal life becomes a reality within the Christian, and the concept of losing this gift. Firstly, there can be no doubt that salvation begins at the point of faith received, otherwise there can be no other possible explanation concerning its chronological initiation. Secondly, how could it stand to reason to perceive that anything about salvation is temporal, and even if this were possible, that God gives temporal salvation to anyone, since it means “to be eternally redeemed”? This would be to either doubt God’s omniscience concerning His foreknowledge of individuals as to whether or not they will remain in it; or to misunderstand omniscience, or to be uninformed concerning the fact that God possesses omniscience.
Faith in the provisions of these truths hold a greater meaning in this life than in the next, “for why does one still hope for what he sees (Rom 8:24)? As it is written, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2Cor 5:7), and sight in the next life will then be the connection instead of faith now. The greatest difficulty, due to it being the most important for maturity, is that of releasing one’s own trust in self in order to see the security in the Father’s hand (true even if not realized – John 10:29) for all who are His! I say the greatest difficulty, because it is when all we’ve come to believe in concerning Christ’s mediation is tested and exercised the most, which is simple dependence on Christ’s expiation concerning our “old man” (sin source) and its sins.
It abides well to realize that all the guilt incurred is not from sins or sinning, but from the possession (by association) of the sin source, which is to say that even if one could stop sinning altogether, the curse of guilt would yet abide within, due to the ever-present (Rom 7:17, 18, 20; Gal 5:17) source. Faith is at its pinnacle of glorifying God when exercised in “full assurance” of the Lord Jesus’ Cross-work while coexisting (but never coalescing) with the sinful Adamic nature.
- NC
The two most often discussed issues on this subject are when the gift of eternal life becomes a reality within the Christian, and the concept of losing this gift. Firstly, there can be no doubt that salvation begins at the point of faith received, otherwise there can be no other possible explanation concerning its chronological initiation. Secondly, how could it stand to reason to perceive that anything about salvation is temporal, and even if this were possible, that God gives temporal salvation to anyone, since it means “to be eternally redeemed”? This would be to either doubt God’s omniscience concerning His foreknowledge of individuals as to whether or not they will remain in it; or to misunderstand omniscience, or to be uninformed concerning the fact that God possesses omniscience.
Faith in the provisions of these truths hold a greater meaning in this life than in the next, “for why does one still hope for what he sees (Rom 8:24)? As it is written, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2Cor 5:7), and sight in the next life will then be the connection instead of faith now. The greatest difficulty, due to it being the most important for maturity, is that of releasing one’s own trust in self in order to see the security in the Father’s hand (true even if not realized – John 10:29) for all who are His! I say the greatest difficulty, because it is when all we’ve come to believe in concerning Christ’s mediation is tested and exercised the most, which is simple dependence on Christ’s expiation concerning our “old man” (sin source) and its sins.
It abides well to realize that all the guilt incurred is not from sins or sinning, but from the possession (by association) of the sin source, which is to say that even if one could stop sinning altogether, the curse of guilt would yet abide within, due to the ever-present (Rom 7:17, 18, 20; Gal 5:17) source. Faith is at its pinnacle of glorifying God when exercised in “full assurance” of the Lord Jesus’ Cross-work while coexisting (but never coalescing) with the sinful Adamic nature.
- NC