Once I saw the well renowned, global evangelist, Benny Hinn on television telling his audience, “If you do not remember anything at all about the loss of salvation, do not forget Matthew 24:13, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Do I care which great pastor is teaching what? As long as it is unscriptural I am against you, standing on the truth of the Word! You just cannot pull out a verse and treat it in isolation of the pictorial context. This verse is always used by Arminians to support their soteriological disposition. This verse, which forms part of Jesus’ teaching beginning from verse three to twenty-four is eschatologically dimensioned (verse 3); its Antichrist involvement (verse 15) is an attestation, because he will rule only after the rapture. The ones who must endure will be those who rejected the simple gospel of John 3:3 so, were left behind to pay with their own blood (2Thessalonians 2:3-11). Verse 22 speaks of ‘shortened’ and ‘elects’ meaning that the wicked antichrist, son of perdition will be allowed only 3 and a half years (Daniel 7:25 & 12:7; Revelation 11:2-3 & 12:14) out of his one week (i.e. seven years) in order to save the remnant elect from being tortured to, an eternal adokimos, submission; what a gracious God! This is about the last days hence eschatological, unless you will want to argue blindly that the rapture, which I am expecting, has already and erroneously, taken place! And for such scriptures as Matthew 5:27-30, our Lord is seriously warning against an inability to cast, with promptitude, a member of your very person that the Devil is always using against you, out. Many, for wanting to enjoy certain vices till a particular period, will resort to procrastination. Such are yet to enter the kingdom, in which when a soul gains an entrance becomes eternally a citizen therein; and so many scriptures support this scriptural reality.

The only criterion that qualifies a man to receive the gift of eternal life in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life;” is ‘believeth’ and the Greek word is, pisteuō (pist-yoo’-o) meaning: ‘to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in; to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith; entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ).’ The three ‘believe’ words in verse 18 have the same pisteuo. I hear our people say, “But you cannot …., without being righteous,” implying the impossibility of this life without outward perseverance of doing ‘good’ as well. There are scriptures to settle this (Colossians 3:3-4; 1John 5:11; Romans 4:6-7, 10:4; 2Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9 & Titus 3:5) which prove that our righteousness is just not ours but is of Christ and hid in Him so that we will not by any omission or commission of the fallible flesh lose it again! Praise the LORD! It, our salvation, is well kept in the Eternal One. This is not to say that we should not be doing the good deeds expected of saved ones.

John 10:27-30 says that born again souls are doubly secured: in Jesus’ hand and the Father’s. They have eternal life because they hear His voice, how? The Holy Spirit is in them, and ‘no one can pluck them from His hand’ the word ‘pluck’ is harpazō (har-pad’-zo): ‘to seize, carry off by force; to seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly; to snatch out or away.’ Do note that these scriptures do not present any strings attached to salvation. Eternal life is what is always promised and it is by the One whose seat and pronouncements emanate from eternity. In John 17:9-12, Jesus is praying for the saved souls asking the Father to ‘keep’ them even as He had ‘kept’ them. Avowed Arminians will point out that Jesus was praying for His eleven disciples only, verse twenty says, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;” therefore I, the author, am well kept! The word ‘keep’ is the Greek, tēreō (tay-reh’-o), meaning: ‘to attend to carefully, take care of; to guard; metaphorically to keep one in the state in which he is; a watch; to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon).’ Read the famous Pauline Romans 8:35-39 and let us see someone sum up courage to tell us what can possibly separate sanctified ones from Christ. In 1Peter 1:3-5, the word ‘kept’ in verse 5 is: phroureō (froo-reh’-o): ‘to guard, protect by a military guard, either to prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight; metaphorically under the control of the Mosaic law, that he might not escape from its power; to protect by guarding, to keep by watching and guarding to preserve one for the attainment of something.’ If God be the Keeper, the kept have no hand in the safety of the kept object. You certainly cannot be another keeper so, God, in His infinite wisdom makes it His sole preserve to keep you safe. Amen!

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love;” Ephesians 1:4 is an intimation of God having chosen us in Christ. ‘Before the foundation of the world,’ points to Christ’s eternal nature (i.e. not being a product of creationism). The verb ‘be’ is: einai (i’-nahee) ‘to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.’ [Einai is a present infinitive from (eime – to exist – it is the same as ‘am’ in ‘I AM THAT I AM’)]. The existence of a born again Christian is a holy presence before God, in love, agape, in Greek, which one saint defined as “a love called out of the heart of a lover on account of the value the lover has placed on the object of his love.” Once you become God’s child, you are constantly holy, blameless and loved! HE ensures our state of being, by making it: (a) ‘holy’ [hagios (hag’-ee-os) ‘most holy thing, a saint; sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated),’ (b) ‘without blame’ [amōmos (am’-o-mos): ‘without blemish; as a sacrifice without spot or blemish; morally: without blemish, faultless, unblameable; unblemished (literally or figuratively): – without blame (blemish, fault, spot)]’. This is what we are in Christ, the phenomenal Person of the expression of His agape. And this is what the great Paul is telling the Church at Ephesus.

Why go the way of Arminian Remonstrant soteriologically and not of the pure scripture as it is written in Romans 5:8-11? Verse 8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The adverb, ‘yet,’ is: eti (et’-ee): ‘yet, still: of time; of a thing which went on formerly, whereas now a different state of things exists or has begun to exist; of a thing which continues at present: even, now’. It was not because of the goodness of my deeds that made Jesus to come down and die for me, not at all! I was busily and systematically (and probably enjoying) living in my sins when He chose to do it! Rom. 5:9, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Justified is dikaioō (dik-ah-yo’-o) ‘to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered; to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be; to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent.’ Dikaioo says our justification in Christ presents us before God, just as if we never sinned. The next word is ‘saved,’ sozo (sode’-zo): ‘to save, i.e. deliver or protect {literally or figuratively}, rescue from danger.’ Every sinner should be expecting a certain anger from God. A saved soul, this verse tells us is saved from wrath: ‘orge (or-gay’) ‘desire; (by analogy) violent passion (ire or (justifiable) abhorrence); (by implication) punishment.’

Verse ten, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Paul has painted a most graphic and magnificent picture, in this tenth verse, concerning preservation of the saints. If you have ‘read’, truly, ‘out of’ the scripture and not the wrong way of reading ‘into it’ then you want to study some words: enemies and reconciled. Enemies, in the Greek is echthros (ech-thros): ‘hostile, hating, and opposing another; used of men as at enmity with God by their sin; opposing (God) in the mind; the devil who is the most bitter enemy of the divine government; (to hate); hateful (passively odious, or actively hostile) usually as a noun, an adversary (especially Satan).’ This is the spiritual position man was found before Jesus chose to die for mankind. ‘Reconciled’ is katallassō (kat-al-las’-so): ‘to change, exchange, as coins for others of equivalent value; to reconcile (those who are at variance); return to favour with, be reconciled to one; to receive one into favour; to change mutually, that is, (figuratively) to compound a difference’. This katallaso (mutual exchange) which was effected as a result of His death, Paul teaches, gives a better assurance of being saved (sozo) from the White Throne Judgment. What is sozo? It means: ‘to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction; to save that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively).’ In verse eleven we have ‘atonement’, (which is taken from katallaso,) is katallagē (kat-al-lag-ay): ‘(in the NT), of the restoration of the favour of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ; exchange (figuratively, adjustment), that is, restoration to (the divine) favour.’ Looking at the meaning of ‘atonement,’ what is deciphered is, ‘at one ment’ (i.e. with God); this is what spiritual regeneration does for us.

         “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” Romans 11:29. Gift, in this verse is: charisma (khar’-is-mah) ‘a (divine) gratuity, i.e. deliverance (from danger or passion); (specially), a (spiritual) endowment; (subjectively) religious qualification; (objectively) miraculous faculty; (free) gift.’ What about ‘calling’? It is klesis (klay`-sis) ‘a calling; (specially) a divine calling; (figuratively) an invitation (by extension) a name.’ Two words, ‘without repentance’ (made up of ‘a’ –a negation, and metamellomai –to care afterwards, i.e. regret) is the Greek word ametameletos (am-et-am-el’-ay-tos): ‘irrevocable; not to be repented of. ‘ You see, God will not call you His child, a born again whose birth was midwifed my the Holy Spirit and then by a commission or an unforeseen omission say, afterwards, that you are no longer His bona fide son; the transaction of the gory cross is sacrosanct, irrefutable. Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Paul is ‘confident’ [peitho (̄pi’-tho): ‘to persuade, i.e. to induce one by words to believe; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty’)] of this very thing i.e. ‘object of prayer’, that He that has begun [enarchomai (en-ar’-khom-ahee): ‘to begin, to commence on]’ a good work (i.e. fellowship of the saved) in you will perform [epiteleō (ep-ee-tel-eh’-o) ‘to bring to an end, accomplish, perfect, execute, complete] it up to the day of Jesus Christ (which ought to be every believer’s focus rather than everyone’s own death),’ read verse ten; 1Corinthians 1:8; Luke 1:74, 75; 1Thessalonians3:13, 5:23, 24; Colossians 1:21, 22 and for those entertainers of the fear of losing it, check 1John 3:20, 21. Paul wrote in 2Timothy 1:12, “…. for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” ‘Keep’, in this verse is, phulasso: ‘to keep from being snatched away, preserve safe and unimpaired, to guard from being lost or perishing; it is probably from [phule (foo-lay): nation, tribe or people] through the idea of isolation; to watch, that is, be on guard (literally or figuratively); by implication to preserve.’ When we got born again we committed [parathēkē (par-ath-ay’-kay): ‘a deposit, a trust or thing consigned to one’s faithful keeping, a deposit, that is, (figuratively) trust]’ our spirit, soul and body into the hand of God unto the last day (of Christ’s coming). A very interesting one is in 1Peter 1:2-5, we read in verse 2, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit…,” in the 3rd verse, “….hath he begotten us again unto a lively hope…”, the 4th promises, “…reserved in heaven for you,” and the ‘kept’ of the fifth is phroureo, which I have explained earlier. John 6:27, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” They asked Jesus how they could work for God in the next verse and He told them in verse 29, “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Faith in Him is the only prerequisite for the entrance into heaven. The word ‘work’ is ergon ‘(a primary but obsolete word; to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication an act.’ So, our Christian toil is not a physical one, it is wholly spiritual. This is why I am always insisting that when a person is truly saved, a one who had said the sinners’ prayer, sincerely, from his heart and not doubting, he is definitely going to heaven. The ‘sealed’ in the 27th verse is sphragizō (sfrag-id’-zo): ‘to set a seal upon, mark with a seal; to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (literally or figuratively); by implication to keep secret, to attest.’

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