Is eternal security a “license” to sin?
The most frequent
objection to the doctrine of eternal security is that it supposedly allows
people to live any way that they want and still be saved. While this may be
“technically” true, it is not true in reality. A person who has truly been
redeemed by Jesus Christ will not live a life characterized by continuous,
willful sin. We must draw a distinction between how a Christian should live and
what a person must do in order to receive salvation.
The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone, through
faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6). The moment a person
truly believes in Jesus Christ, he or she is saved and secure in that
salvation. It is unbiblical to say that salvation is received by faith, but
then has to be maintained by works. The apostle Paul addresses this issue
in Galatians 3:3 when he asks,
“Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to
attain your goal by human effort?” If we are saved by faith, our salvation is
also maintained and secured by faith. We cannot earn our own salvation.
Therefore, neither can we earn the maintenance of our salvation. It is God who
maintains our salvation (Jude 24). It is God’s hand
that holds us firmly in His grasp (John 10:28-29). It is God’s love
that nothing can separate us from (Romans 8:38-39).
Any denial of eternal security is, in its essence, a belief that we must
maintain our own salvation by our own good works and efforts. This is
completely antithetical to salvation by grace. We are saved because of Christ’s
merits, not our own (Romans 4:3-8). To claim that we
must obey God’s Word or live a godly life to maintain our salvation is saying
that Jesus’ death was not sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus’
death was absolutely sufficient to pay for all of our sins—past, present, and
future, pre-salvation and post-salvation (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Does this mean that a Christian can live any way he wants to and still be
saved? This is essentially a hypothetical question, because the Bible makes it
clear that a true Christian will not live “any way he wants to.” Christians are
new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christians demonstrate
the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), not the acts of the
flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). First John 3:6-9 clearly states
that a true Christian will not live in continual sin. In response to the
accusation that grace promotes sin, the apostle Paul declared, “What shall we
say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We
died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2).
Eternal security is not a license to sin. Rather, it is the security of knowing
that God’s love is guaranteed for those who trust in Christ. Knowing and
understanding God’s tremendous gift of salvation accomplishes the opposite of
giving a license to sin. How could anyone, knowing the price Jesus Christ paid for
us, go on to live a life of sin (Romans 6:15-23)? How could anyone who
understands God’s unconditional and guaranteed love for those who believe, take
that love and throw it back in God’s face? Such a person is demonstrating not
that eternal security has given him a license to sin, but rather that he or she
has not truly experienced salvation through Jesus Christ. “No one who lives in
him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known
him” (1 John 3:6).
GotQuestions.org
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