Are you Secure?

One thing I’ve learned years ago is when scripture appears to contradict itself, I am simply misunderstanding something. However, if I don’t know WHAT specifically I am misunderstanding that revelation isn’t very helpful, but at least I know I need to keep digging. I think we struggle with "eternal security" because our perspective is quite different on the issue of salvation than it was in the first century church (or most centuries for that matter).

Imagine with me for a minute that in a couple of centuries the church understands and believes so powerfully in God’s ability and desire to heal, that everyone a Christian prays for gets healed instantly (as it should be). If they were to read our writings from this time period, they would easily be confused about “partial healings” and healing meetings where “some received their healing” and “feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit, but not getting healed” and Christians “dying of cancer” etc. This would be so foreign to them that they could easily question the true meaning of our writings.

As I've recently learned, receiving salvation for most of Christian history, was not understood to be as simple as it is now. Today we have great faith that anyone who accepts Jesus in his heart…is saved. In the first century there is evidence to imply this was a harder concept for them to grasp (not unlike ours for healing). Maybe this is why James had to teach about “a faith that saves” as opposed to a faith that doesn’t save, and taught his hearers to look for a faith with works as evidence of “a saving faith”. Jesus talked about the people who would complain that “we ate and drank with you” and “we cast out demons in your name”…to which He would respond, "Yes, but I never knew you”.

What if people truly struggled with accepting salvation by faith…and it was a process of faith that truly took some time to accomplish. Not that the work of Christ was any less complete, powerful, or available, but what if men’s belief needed more time to accept the truth that was available to them (not unlike ours for healing). If the “salvation process” was not yet complete and some fell away…could they not have heard, even believe on some level, tasted of the Holy Spirit, but still not have been saved? Let’s not forget Judas who certainly heard, had enough faith to leave everything in his life to follow Jesus, personally saw the miraculous events…yet fell to his doom at his betrayal at least.

I believe if this perspective has any merit, it could bring harmony back to all scriptural references regarding saved, not saved, falling away etc. I know in my heart Jesus is Lord, I know His word says, “Whoever believes in the Son HAS eternal life”. I feel pretty secure…eternally! Now let's go get people healed.

\o/ Don