The Eternal Security Blanket Statement

I believe in eternal security. I believe once saved, always saved. I believe that you can't undo a true 'born-again' experience just as a child can't be unborn from his family.

That being said, it really bothers me when people use this as a security blanket for someone who claims to have the experience but evidences no fruit - not even a desire for fruit - yet feels that they still fall under that decision. I think that this mocks what it means to be truly born-again, to have an encounter with Jesus that rips your insides right out of you and you are never the same again.

It's not just some eternal security blanket statement that you make that covers you forever.

I don't mean that there are no stumbles and falls. The Bible never teaches that - as a matter of fact most of Scripture is directed to the stumbling child of God, not to the unbeliever. But when you are truly 'saved' I believe that His Spirit is sealed within you (Ephesians 1:13) and that even through the stumbles you are constantly pricked in your heart by Him. You can't really 'get away' with these things, He doesn't allow it.

But there are many who don't have this inner grief over their failures. These are the ones that I wonder about. In our desperation to get everyone on the salvation bus, we cut way too much slack for those who make a claim but never have an ounce of desire for Christ and holiness after that.

In my humanness, I want everyone safe and settled, but it's not called "The Narrow Gate" for no reason.

On another note: this is a follow-up from last night's Bible Study - the more I read Romans 9,10, the more I realize what Paul is saying. He's saying that though he is desperate for his countrymen to be saved, unless they can acknowledge that "Jesus is Lord," they have missed and are out of the hand of God. No amount of zeal or good intentions will allow them to cross that border. They must be funneled through Christ and Christ alone. One moment of simple faith of a Gentile is worth more than 75 years of good intentions from a pious Jew. This basically puts to rest the struggle I have with the "Good people" vs. "Bad Christian" argument. It's not a question of goodness - it's a question of being in Christ or out of Him.

This is a hard pill to swallow from the outside. That's why it's called foolishness to the Gentiles and a stumbling block to the Jews. (I Cor. 1) But again, it isn't called "The Narrow Gate" for no reason.