"Believe" in the present tense

[FreeGrace]

I said this:
"This means that everyone who has been given eternal life SHALL NEVER PERISH."

They Perish in Revelation 20:15, so it's a Promise/Prophecy of something that happens in the Future.

Sure. Every promise is about the future. But what is your point?

John 10:28 is a promise NOW for those given eternal life. All recipients can "take it to the bank".

 

[markathome]

Revelation 3:5 Jesus Christ Speaking here!
"He who overcomes will 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."

• Name in the Book of Life equals eternal life.
• Name blotted out of the Book of Life equals no eternal life.
• Name not in the Book of Life equals no eternal life.

1. The Book of Life is opened in Revelation 20:12 & the outcome of those NOT written in "The Book of Life" is found in Revelation 20:15
2. Who's name is written in the Book of Life has Eternal Life/Security ONLY when The Book of Life is opened in Revelation 20:12
3. There are names written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, since before the world was even formed! Revelation 13:8 Revelation 17:8
   
4. Jesus Christ Can Add your name to the Book of Life.
5. Jesus Christ Can Subtract your name from the Book of Life. Revelation 3:5
   
6. God Can Subtract your name from the Book of Life. Revelation 22:19

John 10:28-29 is a direct statement of Eternal Life.
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand."
It's only a Direct Statement of "Eternal Life/Security" if Jesus was talking about the future of those that are

1. Written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, that His Father has given to Him/Jesus. No one can snatch them out of Jesus Father’s hand, because His Father is greater than all.
2. Written in the Book of Life by Jesus, that His Father has given to Him/Jesus. No one can snatch them out of Jesus Father’s hand, because His Father is greater than all.

• They NOT in the Book of Life Perish in Revelation 20:15, so it's a Promise/Prophecy of something that happens in the Future.
• They in the Book of Life Don't Perish in Revelation 20:15, so it's a Promise/Prophecy of something that happens in the Future.

1st Type aka I will NOT BLOT his name from the book of life for he who overcomes.
Revelation 3:5 'He who overcomes will 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.

2nd Type aka I will BLOT out his name from the book of life for iniquity.
Psalm 69:27-28 Add iniquity to their iniquity, And may they not come into Your righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous.

3rd Type aka God shall take his part out of the Book of Life
Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the Words of the Book of this Prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are Written in this Book.

4th Type aka they Sin Not & their name written in the book of life.
Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

5th Type aka 666 stuff & their name NOT written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

If you accept the Mark, Jesus Can Blot out your name from the Book of Life which He/Jesus Wrote in there?
If you Remove from the Words in Revelation, God will Blot out your name from the Book of Life which was written from the foundation of the world or even those added by Jesus.
If you accept the Animal Sacrifice System in the place of Jesus's Sacrifice, Jesus Can Blot out your name from the Book of Life which was written from the foundation of the world.

We only have "Eternal Life/Security" because it's in Jesus's Hand. He decides not you or me or our bible verses we change into something else to put the Power back into our own Hands. The Power is in Jesus's Hand.

 

[FreeGrace]

Revelation 3:5 Jesus Christ Speaking here!
"He who overcomes will 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."

• Name in the Book of Life equals eternal life.
• Name blotted out of the Book of Life equals no eternal life.
• Name not in the Book of Life equals no eternal life.

Jesus said that those He gives eternal life shall never perish in John 10:28.

Can someone who has been given eternal life perish?

 

[Cygnus]

Revelation 3:5 Jesus Christ Speaking here!
"He who overcomes will 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."

• Name in the Book of Life equals eternal life.
• Name blotted out of the Book of Life equals no eternal life.
• Name not in the Book of Life equals no eternal life.

'He who overcomes will 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.

Who is the one that overcomes?
1 John 5:4 helps with the answer to that question.....because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

Everyone born of God overcomes the world. They will be clothed in white garments.
All those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb....will not be blotted out of the book of life. This is a promise, not a threat as the OSNAS sect likes to promote.

 

[Cygnus]

Jesus said that those He gives eternal life shall never perish in John 10:28.

Can someone who has been given eternal life perish?

Some would consider Jesus as an Indian giver.
Wiki describes an Indian giver as....""Indian giver" is an American pejorative expression, used to describe a person who gives a "gift" and later wants it back, or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for the item."

 

[chessman]

Jesus Christ Can Subtract your name from the Book of Life. Revelation 3:5

Revelation 3:5 (NASB) He who overcomes will 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.​

Does your Bible say He will erase... or does it say "I will not erase..."?

 

[Seabass]

You are adding to the scripture in the exact fashion I added to it with your post and usage of the scripture.
Show me a verse that uses the words...STOP BELIEVING...and you may have a point. Otherwise you are simply suggesting, speculation, inferring...that the verse says what you added to it.

A verse does not have to have the exact words "stop believing" for it to disprove your point.

The fact the verbs hear and believe in John 5:24 show the ones, and only ones, to have everlasting life are the ones that have an ongoing sustained hearing and believing which logically rules out anyone who quit a present tense state of hearing and believing from having everlasting life.

John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,..."
Both verbs "believeth" are present tense showing the state one currently is in (belief or unbelief) determines his eternal fate.

What has not been shown nor ever will be shown is a verse saying the unbeliever has everlasting life.

 

[billybalke]

I understand it to be conditional. The one who is not erased is the one who "overcomes".

 

[Nathan]

Nathan...let me repeat myself....Eternal can be seen as looking eternally into the future only. The nuance of the term eternal isn't limited to your sole choice.

Eternal is used here...
Matt 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Your understanding of the word eternal would have this eternal place of punishment always existing from eternity past.

Personally I'd reconsider your single usage..limited view...of the word.

I think that its not understood what eternal punishment is. I assure you, the 'eternal punishment' that people who are not in Christ will receive, has no beginning or end. Notice what your verse you quote states - "into". They will go "into" that eternal place.

So yes, eternal cannot be redefined by us to mean it has a beginning. Eternal has no beginning or end. Only God has eternal life.

 

[Seabass]

What I "attack" is the abuse of a certain Greek tense and bad grammar. Of course abusing a tense and bad grammar challenges my position, but since the abuse and bad grammar are the problems, the challenge is fake.

It actually says "he that hears My word and believes on Him that sent me, HAS eternal life".

But the issue here is where does it say "he that does not heareth and does not believeth on Him hath everlasting life?" It doesn't but you are trying to make this impossibility a possibility and have to ignore the grammar in the process. You are trying to avoid the fact that one who goes from believing and having everlasting life to unbelief and not having everlasting life. for that kills your OSAS argument.

For exegesis, believing here is present tense. It means "he that hears presently, or right now, or even today". Those who believe possess eternal life.

But the issue is about the person who quits believing, that casts away his faith. He is one that does NOT presently hear therefore does not have everlasting life.

Since there are no verses about receiving eternal life some period of time AFTER initially believing, it should be obvious that it is received the MOMENT one believes. That is the point. Which cannot be refuted.

I think all are in agreement here that the one who believes and continues to believe has everlasting life.

The issue is what about the one that quits believing. John5:24 or John 6:27.28 do not promise everlasting life to this now unbeliever.

 

[Edward]

But the issue here is where does it say "he that does not heareth and does not believeth on Him hath everlasting life?" It doesn't but you are trying to make this impossibility a possibility and have to ignore the grammar in the process. You are trying to avoid the fact that one who goes from believing and having everlasting life to unbelief and not having everlasting life. for that kills your OSAS argument.



But the issue is about the person who quits believing, that casts away his faith. He is one that does NOT presently hear therefore does not have everlasting life.



I think all are in agreement here that the one who believes and continues to believe has everlasting life.

The issue is what about the one that quits believing. John5:24 or John 6:27.28 do not promise everlasting life to this now unbeliever.

Hey, wassa big idea, speaking truth on this board? You lookin' for a fight? Lol

 

[Seabass]

Seabass, let me ask you again...Where does that verse say STOP BELIEVING?
Stop playing dodge ball and answer the question with out employing biblical gymnastics.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

The present tense shows an action ongoing, sustained. This logically rules out the person who stops believing from having everlasting life.

 

[Seabass]

I said this:
"No, my point is the SAME as Jesus' point in John 10:28. Recipients of eternal life shall never perish. If that's hard to swallow, I'm sorry."

Totally not true.

Please point out the conditions Jesus laid on recipients of eternal life in order to never perish in John 10:28.


This is a nonsense challenge. This isn't about whether one ceases to believe or not.

It IS about what Jesus gives to people and the result; they shall never perish.

When does Jesus give eternal life to people? Specifically?

Since I doubt that I will be given an answer, I'll answer it. He gives eternal life to a person WHEN they believe.

And it's at THAT POINT WHEN Jesus gives eternal life.

So, IN FACT, what that person may do in the future HAS NO BEARING on his/her never perishing.

What conditions did Jesus lay on recipients of eternal life for never perishing? None.

If a believer quits believing then he becomes lost (losing eternal life) which refutes your OSAS argument. No verse says this now unbeliever will be saved anyway.


You asked "When does Jesus give eternal life to people? Specifically?"

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.


Those that continue to hear and continue to follow are the ones that shall never perish. So those that quit hearing and following shall perish for the "them" only refers to those that have a sustained ongoing continued hearing and following.

 

[Seabass]

I've never met an eternal security believer who didn't rely on regular confession of sins for forgiveness and cleansing.

The issue is what if one quits confessing his sins, will he still be saved anyway? No, just like the one that quits hearing and following per John 10:27,28 SHALL perish.

Your above statement makes salvation CONDITIONAL upon one confessing sins when OSAS says salvation is UNCONDITIONAL.

So is salvation conditional or unconditional?

 

[markathome]

Forget the OSAS or OSNAS junk & just humble ourselves & read what Jesus Christ said to an entire Church, applied to our own self?
It's Beautiful beyond measure but does have a Warning Attached which is often ignored.

Revelation 3:15-21
I know thy works,
that thou art neither cold nor hot:
I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;
and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke & chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

[Seabass]

Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again. (John 4:13)

The term drinks is in the present tense. Charles Stanley, whether you like him or not, makes a good point regarding the argument of present tense:



The present tense argument in this issue is seriously flawed. Seems to me many are forcing meaning into the text that just simply isn't there.

Can a Christian Ever Be Lost?
BY WAYNE JACKSON

A prominent Baptist preacher, Dr. Charles Stanley of Atlanta, Georgia, alleges that a child of God can never so sin as to be lost. In his book advocating this theory, Stanley writes: “As a believer, you will never be judged for your sins” (Eternal Security — Can You Be Sure?, Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1990, p. 39).

The proof-text he cites is John 3:18, “He who believes on him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

What shall we say to this argument?

The Grammar
First, the author has neglected to consider the force of the verbal tenses of the original language that reveal the fuller picture.Blackwelder summarizes the data by the following expanded rendition of John 3:18:

“The one who continues trusting [pisteuon, present participle] in him is not condemned; the one who does not continue trusting [same construction but with negative particle] is already condemned [perfect passive, is in a state of condemnation] because he has not believed with abiding results [pepisteuken,perfect tense, indicating permanent attitude of unbelief] in the name of the Son of God” (Light From the Greek New Testament, Anderson Press: Warner, IN, 1959, p. 105).

One does not come under the sentence of judgment so long as he continues his active faith in the Lord. The promise is conditional. The implication otherwise is as clear as can be.

A Biblical Case
Second, there is unequivocal inspired testimony that a believer can lose his soul on account of personal sin.

There was a brother in the Corinthian church who was living in fornication with his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5:1). Paul, by inspiration, states that he had “judged” this wayward man (v. 3). Further, he admonished the saints at Corinth to “put away the wicked man from among yourselves” (v. 13), which was a command to exercise church discipline. They were to expel the offender from their fellowship. The design of the discipline was to bring the wayward brother to repentance so that his “spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (v. 5; cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15).

The implication is quite plain — if the fornicator did not abandon his evil, he would not be saved in the day of the Lord. If it was impossible for him to be lost, the function/goal of the discipline was misstated.

Here is an interesting thought: can one become so wicked that he is unfit for church fellowship, yet still fit for God’s fellowship?

Stanley’s Struggle
Charles Stanley is not unaware of the weakness of his argument.He raises this question: “If our salvation is gained through believing in Christ, doesn’t it make sense that salvation would be lost if we quit believing?” (p. 73).

He concedes that such arguments sound “convincing,” but he believes he has a solution to the problem, and he spends several chapters in his book struggling with it.

As suggested in our discussion of John 3:18 (above), the promise of security is conditioned upon our sustained belief. The present tense form pisteuo (believe) is found several times in John’s Gospel within this type of context (cf. 3:14-16,18; 5:24; 6:29; 6:40).

Now what is the significance of the present tense in Greek? Dana & Mantey (two Baptist scholars) note that the “principle tense” for representing “action as continuous” is the present tense (A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, New York: Macmillan, 1968, p. 178). A.T. Robertson, the greatest Baptist grammarian ever, wrote: “the present tense expresses incompleted action” (A Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament, New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1908, p. 140).

Quotations of this nature could be multiplied many times over.
I introduce this matter to emphasize that it is incredible that Mr. Stanley, in attempting to avoid the force of the present tense, should say: “The normal use of the present tense does not denote continuous, uninterrupted action” (p. 85).

The gentleman introduces John 4:13 in attempting to sustain his point. Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks [present tense] of this water [from Jacob’s well] shall thirst again.” He declares that it is ridiculous to suggest that those folks were “continuously drinking from Jacob’s well” (p. 86).

He will have to dispute the matter with one of his own spiritual kinsmen — a top Baptist scholar whose scholarship considerably eclipsed that of the Atlanta “Pastor.” Professor Kenneth Wuest translated John 4:13 in this way:

“Whosoever keeps on drinking of this water shall thirst again” (his emp.). He then comments: “Continual drinking at the wells of the world never quenches the soul’s thirst for heart satisfaction” (The Practical Use of the Greek New Testament, Chicago: Moody Press, 1946, p. 43).

Of course the people of Sychar were not drinking in an “uninterrupted” fashion; they were, however, drinking on a sustained basis. And that is what we must do. In spite of temporary lapses of faith due to weakness, we must progressively persevere — if we expect to enjoy eternal life. The tenses make this certain.

What is the point of all this? Mr. Stanley is trying to prove that one does not have to keep on believing in order to make his salvation secure.He advocates the notion that a Christian can completely abandon his faith in God and Christ, become a rank atheist, and the Lord will save him anyhow. Hear him:

“Even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from His hand” (p. 74). Is this not an incredible statement?

What a tragic error this is.Contrast it with the testimony of an inspired writer.

“Take heed, brothers, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin: for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end: while it is said, To-day if you shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For who, when they heard, did provoke? No, did not all they that came out of Egypt by Moses? And with whom was he displeased forty years? Was it not with them that sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom he swore that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that were disobedient? And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:12-19; emp. added).

The point being made is this. If the Christian does not remain faithful, he will not enter into the eternal rest that God has prepared for his people (cf. 4:1ff). The doctrine of the “impossibility of apostasy” is a human dogma that has no support in Holy Scripture.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
John 3:18; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 13; John 4:13; Hebrews 3:12-19
CITE THIS ARTICLE
Jackson, Wayne. "Can a Christian Ever Be Lost?" ChristianCourier.com. Access date: July 24, 2017. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1131-can-a-christian-ever-be-lost


Seabass: if one can quit believing yet still be saved, then that contradicts and undermines all the verses that require faithfulness on part of the Christian.

 

[Seabass]

Yes, dead branches asre broken off and burned. Does that refer to loss of salvation?

It CAN'T. Why not? Because Jesus said those He gives eternal life shall never perish. John 10:28

So the metaphor Jesus used in John 15 isn't about losing salvation or His claim in 10:28 cannot be true. So the farming metaphor is about something else; service and fellowship. Or lack thereof.

Your argument fails for you have not yet produced a verse that says those that quit hearing and following shall not perish.

AGAIN, the pronoun "THEM" in John 10:28 only refers to those that hear and follow and not to those that do not hear and follow. You have failed to prove that "THEM" refers to one who does not hear and follow.

 

[billybalke]

Revelation 3:5 (NASB) He who overcomes will 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.​

Does your Bible say He will erase... or does it say "I will not erase..."?

According to Rev.3:5, the one whose name is not erased is the one who overcomes. Its conditional.

 

[Cygnus]

A verse does not have to have the exact words "stop believing" for it to disprove your point.

The fact the verbs hear and believe in John 5:24 show the ones, and only ones, to have everlasting life are the ones that have an ongoing sustained hearing and believing which logically rules out anyone who quit a present tense state of hearing and believing from having everlasting life.

Then it appears that you have added your opinion...speculation...to that verse. You added "stop believing".

The verse you presnted refers to those that don't have a faith from the get go. The verse is not in reference to an individual that once had a faith and lost it through deception.

 

[Papa Zoom]

Can a Christian Ever Be Lost?
BY WAYNE JACKSON

A prominent Baptist preacher, Dr. Charles Stanley of Atlanta, Georgia, alleges that a child of God can never so sin as to be lost. In his book advocating this theory, Stanley writes: “As a believer, you will never be judged for your sins” (Eternal Security — Can You Be Sure?, Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1990, p. 39).

The proof-text he cites is John 3:18, “He who believes on him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

What shall we say to this argument?

The Grammar
First, the author has neglected to consider the force of the verbal tenses of the original language that reveal the fuller picture.Blackwelder summarizes the data by the following expanded rendition of John 3:18:

“The one who continues trusting [pisteuon, present participle] in him is not condemned; the one who does not continue trusting [same construction but with negative particle] is already condemned [perfect passive, is in a state of condemnation] because he has not believed with abiding results [pepisteuken,perfect tense, indicating permanent attitude of unbelief] in the name of the Son of God” (Light From the Greek New Testament, Anderson Press: Warner, IN, 1959, p. 105).

One does not come under the sentence of judgment so long as he continues his active faith in the Lord. The promise is conditional. The implication otherwise is as clear as can be.

A Biblical Case
Second, there is unequivocal inspired testimony that a believer can lose his soul on account of personal sin.

There was a brother in the Corinthian church who was living in fornication with his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5:1). Paul, by inspiration, states that he had “judged” this wayward man (v. 3). Further, he admonished the saints at Corinth to “put away the wicked man from among yourselves” (v. 13), which was a command to exercise church discipline. They were to expel the offender from their fellowship. The design of the discipline was to bring the wayward brother to repentance so that his “spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (v. 5; cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15).

The implication is quite plain — if the fornicator did not abandon his evil, he would not be saved in the day of the Lord. If it was impossible for him to be lost, the function/goal of the discipline was misstated.

Here is an interesting thought: can one become so wicked that he is unfit for church fellowship, yet still fit for God’s fellowship?

Stanley’s Struggle
Charles Stanley is not unaware of the weakness of his argument.He raises this question: “If our salvation is gained through believing in Christ, doesn’t it make sense that salvation would be lost if we quit believing?” (p. 73).

He concedes that such arguments sound “convincing,” but he believes he has a solution to the problem, and he spends several chapters in his book struggling with it.

As suggested in our discussion of John 3:18 (above), the promise of security is conditioned upon our sustained belief. The present tense form pisteuo (believe) is found several times in John’s Gospel within this type of context (cf. 3:14-16,18; 5:24; 6:29; 6:40).

Now what is the significance of the present tense in Greek? Dana & Mantey (two Baptist scholars) note that the “principle tense” for representing “action as continuous” is the present tense (A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, New York: Macmillan, 1968, p. 178). A.T. Robertson, the greatest Baptist grammarian ever, wrote: “the present tense expresses incompleted action” (A Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament, New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1908, p. 140).

Quotations of this nature could be multiplied many times over.
I introduce this matter to emphasize that it is incredible that Mr. Stanley, in attempting to avoid the force of the present tense, should say: “The normal use of the present tense does not denote continuous, uninterrupted action” (p. 85).

The gentleman introduces John 4:13 in attempting to sustain his point. Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks [present tense] of this water [from Jacob’s well] shall thirst again.” He declares that it is ridiculous to suggest that those folks were “continuously drinking from Jacob’s well” (p. 86).

He will have to dispute the matter with one of his own spiritual kinsmen — a top Baptist scholar whose scholarship considerably eclipsed that of the Atlanta “Pastor.” Professor Kenneth Wuest translated John 4:13 in this way:

“Whosoever keeps on drinking of this water shall thirst again” (his emp.). He then comments: “Continual drinking at the wells of the world never quenches the soul’s thirst for heart satisfaction” (The Practical Use of the Greek New Testament, Chicago: Moody Press, 1946, p. 43).

Of course the people of Sychar were not drinking in an “uninterrupted” fashion; they were, however, drinking on a sustained basis. And that is what we must do. In spite of temporary lapses of faith due to weakness, we must progressively persevere — if we expect to enjoy eternal life. The tenses make this certain.

What is the point of all this? Mr. Stanley is trying to prove that one does not have to keep on believing in order to make his salvation secure.He advocates the notion that a Christian can completely abandon his faith in God and Christ, become a rank atheist, and the Lord will save him anyhow. Hear him:

“Even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from His hand” (p. 74). Is this not an incredible statement?

What a tragic error this is.Contrast it with the testimony of an inspired writer.

“Take heed, brothers, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin: for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end: while it is said, To-day if you shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For who, when they heard, did provoke? No, did not all they that came out of Egypt by Moses? And with whom was he displeased forty years? Was it not with them that sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom he swore that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that were disobedient? And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:12-19; emp. added).

The point being made is this. If the Christian does not remain faithful, he will not enter into the eternal rest that God has prepared for his people (cf. 4:1ff). The doctrine of the “impossibility of apostasy” is a human dogma that has no support in Holy Scripture.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
John 3:18; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 13; John 4:13; Hebrews 3:12-19
CITE THIS ARTICLE
Jackson, Wayne. "Can a Christian Ever Be Lost?" ChristianCourier.com. Access date: July 24, 2017. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1131-can-a-christian-ever-be-lost


Seabass: if one can quit believing yet still be saved, then that contradicts and undermines all the verses that require faithfulness on part of the Christian.

Unless you've actually read the book, you have no business commenting on it.