Though there are many teachings of the Lord Jesus
that we could focus in upon to answer this question, perhaps His teaching known as
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) would be the best of all regarding this controversy.
This teaching demonstratively shows the full extent of sin's destructive power in the life
of a son of God, the key roles that free will and human responsibility have, the limited
protective power offered by the believer's "seal," as taught by Christ Himself and much
more. Let's examine it closely.
The teaching starts by focusing in on the younger of the two sons of the father,
who asked for and received his share of the estate. Soon afterward, he departed from
the father's presence for a distant country of "wild living" (v.13). There he squandered
his wealth with prostitutes (v.30). After he spent everything he had there was a severe
famine in that country, during which time he personally longed to eat the pods that the
pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything! He then came to his senses, returned
to the father repentfully and found complete forgiveness and restoration. Beyond this,
the father with no hesitation initiated the "kill the fattened calf" celebration for his
homecoming.
Verses 24 and 32 are essential to this parable, controversy and study. Both of
these Scriptures, declared by the father, reveal the spiritual condition of the prodigal
both BEFORE and AFTER the time of his "wild living." Verse 24 spoken to his servants
says, "For this son of mine was dead and is ALIVE AGAIN; he was lost and is
found," while verse 32, spoken to the older son says, "... this brother of yours was
dead and is ALIVE AGAIN; he was lost and is found." The important point the father
was emphasizing was the complete reversal of the prodigal's spiritual condition, now
that he repented. He went from "DEAD" to "ALIVE AGAIN" which is equated in the
same sentence as going from "LOST" to "FOUND." Hence, there is great reason to
rejoice over such a sinner that repents, as already mentioned two separate times in this
same chapter in the parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin.
Perhaps the words "ALIVE AGAIN" are most revealing. The Greek word from
which "ALIVE AGAIN" comes is found five times in the New Testament -- in these two
verses just cited, Rom. 7:9; 14:9 and Rev. 20:5. It means LIVE AGAIN or REVIVE. This
is easily seen in Rom. 14:9, "... Christ died and returned to life ...." Here it is stated
that the Lord's physical condition went from LIFE to DEATH [on the cross] to LIFE
AGAIN [when He arose from the grave]. Similarly, the prodigal's spiritual condition went
from LIFE to DEATH [when with the prostitutes] to LIFE AGAIN [when he returned to
the father's presence]. Regarding this type of action and the believer's security, one
strain of eternal security is perhaps best exemplified by what John MacArthur wrote:
The Lord Jesus, in contrast to MacArthur and this position, clearly taught such
can occur, by this parable! Also request our tract entitled, He Was Never Really Saved
To Begin With for other arguments.
Furthermore, there are many in our hour that unfortunately teach and sincerely
believe that the most one could ever lose through sin after initial salvation is their joy of
salvation, spiritual rewards and/or position in the kingdom. Jesus, however, very clearly
taught otherwise! The Lord taught the prodigal's spiritual condition degenerated to
"DEAD," the same as for everyone before initial salvation (Eph. 2:1). Paul stated
likewise, after initial salvation, "If you live according to the sinful nature you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live" (Rom. 8:13).
This is what happened to the prodigal, that is, he died spiritually because he chose,
through his own free will, to "live according to the sinful nature."
Luke 15:13 states "wild living" characterized his behavior when spiritually
"DEAD" and "LOST" in his unconfessed and unrepented sins. The word for "wild living"
comes from the Greek word meaning EXCESS, as found in Eph. 5:18: "And be not
drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (KJV). Hence, the
prodigal's behavior, as implied by Lk. 15:13, included DRUNKENNESS and other
excesses that go with that kind of sinful lifestyle. This would be a safe assumption
anyway, especially since he spent his money with prostitutes! Therefore, among other
grievous sins, the prodigal's sins were SEXUAL IMMORALITY and DRUNKENNESS --
two rampant spiritual killers in our day too! Paul wrote about these and other similar
sins in Gal. 5:19-21 and 1 Cor. 6:9,10. This former passage, written to Christians in
WARNING form, reads: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
WARN YOU, as I did before, that those who live like this will NOT inherit the
kingdom of God."
Robert B. Thieme, another influential eternal security teacher of our day, likens
the prodigal son to a carnal Christian whom he describes as follows:
WHAT A VENOMOUS LIE THIS IS! Please know the following about carnal
Christians as mentioned by Paul: (1) 1 Cor. 3:3 is very clear about their sins being
"jealousy" and "quarreling" and nothing as severe as the Prodigal's were. Paul wrote:
"You are still worldly. For since there is JEALOUSY and QUARRELING among you, are
you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" Furthermore, in the next two
verses we see why they were acting like this, that is, some at Corinth apparently
favored one Christian leader over another, namely Paul over Apollos and vice versa!
(2) In 1 Cor. 6:11, we read, "And that is what some of you WERE. But you WERE
washed, you WERE sanctified, you WERE justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Please note: those "carnal" Christians were NOT
drunkards any more or sexually immoral any more, etc., as clearly indicated by the
word "WERE" in this verse referring back to verses 9 and 10! This again shows an all
important difference between what the eternal security teachers are saying and
what God says, as recorded in the Bible. (3) To believe the eternal security teachers
regarding carnal Christianity and the behavior of such people would also render
meaningless verses such as 1 Jn. 3:10: "This is how we know who the children of God
are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a
child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." Please note that John's test
to know a child of God from a child of the devil was a present-tense behavioral one and
not just a testimony of a past conversion experience! See also 1 Jn. 2:3,4.
It is my contention that as water is to fire, so the teaching of eternal security is to
the fear of God, as evident by eternal security teachings such as these.
Please note: unlike what some of the eternal security teachers would say, based
on a faulty interpretation of Col. 2:13, the prodigal's future sins were NOT automatically
forgiven, because if they were, it would have been impossible for them to bring about
his "DEAD" and "LOST" spiritual condition! "He forgave us all our sins" (Col. 2:13), can
only refer to "all" of our PAST sins getting forgiven at the point of initial salvation. If not,
there would be no need to confess sins committed after salvation for forgiveness, as
shown in 1 Jn. 1:9. In addition, many other Scriptures would be meaningless if all our
future sins were automatically forgiven also at the point of initial salvation! In contrast
to Scripture and reason, another eternal security teacher (June Hunt) said,
While some heavily rely upon Jesus' promise stated in Jn. 10:28,29, that is, that
no one will "snatch" his sheep from His hand or the Father's hand, please note that this
doesn't exclude the apparent possibility of a "sheep" walking off due to his own
personal free will to a lifestyle that will result in spiritual death, as exemplified by the
prodigal son! No one plucked the prodigal out of the Father's hand, but the Father let
him walk away! Also, the wonderful promise of John 10:28,29 holds true ONLY for
those who "follow" [continuous tense in the Greek] Jesus (v. 27)!
Also, many read into the believer's "seal," which Paul wrote of, as a spiritual
protection that is an assurance that will, most definitely, mean our future entrance into
the kingdom no matter what. However, Jesus' teaching on the prodigal son also refutes
this faulty interpretation, for that "seal" didn't prevent the prodigal's "dead" and "lost"
condition from coming about! The same can be emphatically stated from James 4:4b
regarding anyone who would "choose to be a friend of the world" and consequently
become an "enemy of God." Enemies of God will be consumed by raging fire (Heb.
10:27)! This too shows the "seal" won't prevent their spiritual death.
Furthermore, in light of Heb. 13:5 which states that God will never leave or
forsake us, please note the prodigal left and forsook the father and the father let him
walk off! Besides, Heb. 13:5,8 is a quote from Deut. 31:6,8, which shows by Deut.
31:17 that God will "forsake" us because of sin! [If you have a copy of our book refuting
the sinister teaching of eternal security, please refer to pages 74 and 75 for a full
explanation.]
Many eternal security proponents try to weaken such truths as these and others
taught in the parables by saying things like: Parables weren't given for doctrine or
parables teach only one truth and not several! Regarding the latter, Charles Stanley
wrote in his monthly magazine:
Both of these objections are categorically false! Parables were taught by Christ
as a means of revealing the secrets of the kingdom to believers and concealing the
same secrets from the unbelievers (Matt. 13:10-13). Since doctrine is one and the
same as teachings, obviously parables are for doctrine. For example, the parable of the
Pharisee and Tax Collector (Lk. 18:9-14) clearly teaches the doctrine of INSTANT
JUSTIFICATION for all, who like that tax collector, sincerely and humbly pray directly to
God asking for forgiveness. Furthermore, a second basic truth is clearly taught in the
same parable -- namely, one must first be aware of his own personal need of
forgiveness before he will receive it. The self-righteous pharisee lacked this insight and
went home unjustified and unforgiven! Hence, both objections raised by eternal security
proponents, against the use of parables, are clearly refuted here!
Finally regarding the prodigal son, let us all rejoice that the father QUICKLY and
JOYFULLY took him back after he repented. In other words, we know from this that a
person can get saved MORE THAN ONCE based on this teaching and a
corroborating one by Paul, the true grace teacher, in Rom. 11:19-23: "You will say
then, 'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.' Granted. But they were
broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. DO NOT BE ARROGANT, BUT
BE AFRAID. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you
either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who
fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise,
you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted
in, for God is able to graft them in AGAIN." [This passage from Rom. 11 seems to be
tailor-made and customized for this controversy over the believer's security. Clearly, it
causes much trouble for the eternal security proponent, that is, if he even knows it
exists!]
Other passages given by Jesus which refute eternal security are: Matt. 6:14,15;
10:22,33; 24:13; 25:26-30; Lk. 8:13; 12:45,46; Jn. 15:6; Rev. 2:10,11,26; 3:15,16.
COME ON HOME MODERN-DAY PRODIGALS. God will likewise accept and
rejoice over YOU! Don't think you have sinned too much to return. The prodigal Jesus
taught about, likewise, knew ONLY "wild living" for an undesignated period of time --
perhaps many years. God wants you home in his presence, too -- "alive again" and no
longer "lost." Come while you still can. The true plan of salvation is repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21). We prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). The Lord Jesus taught the road to life is "hard" and only a "few" will find it (Mt. 7:13,14, NKJV). Many get saved, but afterwards fall away (Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:66; 1 Tim. 1:19; etc.). In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unware of in our day because of the false teaching of eternal security. According to true grace teaching, eternal life is also a HOPE (Titus 3:7), yet to be REAPED (Gal. 6:8,9) in the AGE TO COME (Mk. 10:30) for only the ones who PERSIST IN DOING GOOD (Rom. 2:7) and DO NOT GROW WEARY AND GIVE UP (Gal. 6:9).
If a saved person sows to please his sinful nature he'll die spiritually (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8,9). The prodigal is a clear example of this (Lk. 15:24,32). The end result of sin is spiritual death, so DO NOT BE DECEIVED (James 1:14-16). For more information regarding the believer's security, see our what's new page. Our 801 page book, The Believer's Conditional Security, is the most exhaustive and comprehensive refutation to eternal security ever written. It will not be refuted!
Because of the teaching of once saved always saved, grace has been taught as a license for immorality for so long, and without challenge, that when Scripture is quoted, such as 1 Cor. 6:9,10 or Rev. 21:8, it is disregarded, and the giver of God's Word is falsely accused of teaching legalism, bondage, works, etc. This reflects how truly dark are the days in which we live!
The ACID TEST question to know if a ministry or local congregation is teaching a license for immorality as condemned by Jude 3,4 is: Does true grace allow the sexually immoral in heaven? If their answer is "YES," avoid it like the AIDS virus! To sit under this teaching influence could mean that your soul and the souls of your loved ones will be eternally damned as a result. To support and promote such a ministry and teaching is to share in its wicked work (2 Jn. 9-11). This includes your financial donations! Flee from such a ministry or congregation and encourage others to do the same before it's eternally too late.
"No matter how convincing a person's testimony might seem, once he becomes
apostate he has demonstrated irrefutably that he was never really saved" [John
F. MacArthur, Jr., The Gospel According to Jesus (Zondervan Publishing, Grand
Rapids, MI, 1989), p.98].
"The behavior pattern of a carnal Christian cannot be distinguished from that of
an unbeliever (1 Cor. 3:3). As far as God's Word is concerned, you may act like
an unbeliever; but if you have believed in Christ, you are still a believer -- a
believer in status quo carnality -- out of fellowship. This principle is important in
understanding the prodigal. A BELIEVER OUT OF FELLOWSHIP ACTS LIKE
AN UNBELIEVER" [emphasis his] [R. B. Thieme, Jr., The Prodigal Son, Houston,
TX, 1974, p.7].
June: "Well, technically, Carl, a person who has truly entered into a relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ, let me ask you this, how many of their sins were
forgiven once they entered into that relationship with Him?"
Carl: "Well, I believe all of mine have been."
June: "Yes, because that's what Scripture teaches."
Carl: "Past, present and future."
June: "And future. So the issue is, all of our sins are already forgiven" [June
Hunt, tape: "Suicide or Survival," #9114] (emphasis ours).
"Jesus told the story of the prodigal son for one reason, to portray God's
unconditional love. (Luke 15:11-32)" [In Touch, September 1994, p.7.]
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