3/6/2023 0 Comments Eternal Security of BelieversDoes Mt 6:7-15 and 18:21-35 mean that a believer can lose their salvation that they are already given because of their sins of commission or omission? If they do mean that, then Scripture has contradicted Scripture. But reading the context makes it plain that the "forgiveness" here withheld from God is different the complete forgiveness of sins freely given to all believers at the moment of their salvation. In order to come to the right interpretation about these passages, the reader must believe the entire Bible does not contradict itself, and not disregard any doctrine that is taught therein. That means they will at least study the context of the text. And if the reader doesn't approach the Bible in this way, then they will arrive at a wrong conclusion and contradict the Bible. And their insistence on their position will be exposed as only stemming from their own prejudice and laziness. 1. The Bible says the work of salvation (regeneration, justification, sanctification, and ultimately glorification) is entirely the sovereign work of God, from start to finish.
2. Similar to the point #1, The one who is so granted salvation is made a child of God by God's IMMUTABLE DECREE, and hence will never be disowned. The child of God is completely secure in salvation.
3. Similar to point #1 and #2, the believer has complete forgiveness of all their sins (past, present, and future), earned through the FINISHED propitiatory work of Christ on the cross.
4. Similar to point #1, #2, #3, Jesus intercedes for all His people who believe in Him and secures their eternal salvation, and all the prayers of the Son are NEVER rejected by the Father.
5. Contrary to the fallacious criticism that says "So you believers think you are completely forgiven and already justified before God. That must mean that you now enjoy sinning in any way you want without consequence," the believers are the only ones who have the DESIRE and the ABILITY to obey God and not sin, and to persevere under trial. Being justified by sheer grace is not appending an insurance policy to the sinful ways. It is a complete transformation of oneself from being a slave of sin to becoming a slave of Christ. Thus if you are under grace, you will not entertain the sinful, false logic of antinomianism. You WILL obey God and never relinquish your allegiance to God, because you, for the first time in your life, love the Saviour and Lord God.
6. Despite the sinful behaviour of His believers, the Lord Jesus embraces them as completely safe from any eternal punishment. But the Lord disciplines and molds them to conform to His moral character.
7. Forgiving one another is a command given to the believers.
8. THEREFORE, in light of the previous points as well as the immediate context of the passages, the kind of forgiveness that Jesus is threatening to withhold here pertains to the integrity of the relationship between a disobedient son to a loving father. The relationship strain that occurs as a result of the lack of this forgiveness produces a guilty conscience (Ps 32:3) and disciplinary actions from God (1Co 11:29,30), which motivates the disobedient child toward obedience. This is the way "your Father" who "knows what you need before you ask Him," "who is in heaven," "will not forgive your transgressions if you do not forgive others." This is what Jesus says to His disciples when He was teaching them to pray to their Father (Mt 6). Again, in Mt 18, in the context of family relationship, Jesus tells Peter to forgive "his brother," or else he will face his Father's discipline. Also, Jesus CLEARLY says that the king ALREADY forgave all the debt of his slave. And Jesus does not say that the king went back on his word of forgiveness, but only that the king "handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him." And what is owed to the king is said by the very lips of the king: "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?" And as soon as the slave realizes that he is beholden to the king, that he actually is obligated to repay the king by following the example of the king's compassion, he would then be freed from the torturers. This interpretation is perfectly in line with the rest of the Scripture, as outlined in the previous points, that the believers owe to their Saviour God a heart of compassion toward their fellow men.
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CategoriesAll Discourse Doctrines Gospel Humour NT Commentaries OT Commentaries Tactical Life Date
August 2023
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