1 Corinthians
9:23-27
Reply:
First of all, the last sentence
made by Akin is contrary to 2 Timothy 4:18. Also, in Philippians 4:3, Paul knows that the names of Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement
are written in the book of life (i.e. they were of the elect).
Second, this passage isn’t even talking about apostasy or heinous
sin. The passage cited is a continuance of verses 1-22. Paul is answering objections to his apostleship (v.1-3). First, he argues that a preacher and a traveling missionary deserve to be given food, drink, and shelter as the wages of his due (v.4,
13-14). He then explains that he has a right to marry like the rest of the apostles (v.5-6), and he has other rights too because
of the work he has been doing (v.7-11). Then, he says that he has not made use of many of the rights that he had because they
might have hindered the spread of the Gospel (v.12, i.e. marriage being one of them, also see example in 8:9-13). He then protects
his claim to apostleship and attacks anyone’s claim that he was a fraud by pointing out that he preaches without requiring money (v.14-15). Since he does not preach the Gospel voluntarily because the stewardship of preaching was laid upon him by Christ (v.16-17, Acts
v.23: He then says that he does these things so that he may be a fellow partaker
of the gospel. What does he mean by that? It is so that he can be rewarded as a “good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)
in heaven because he brought them (i.e. those who were saved) to Christ.
Verses 24-26: In order to do all these things (i.e.
“become all things to all men” in order to “save some” by depriving himself of his rights), he must become like an athlete and work
hard.
“Imperishable Wreath”: Not the prize of eternal salvation but a heavenly reward for bringing others to Christ.
v.27: “Disqualified”: In verse 19, he makes himself a slave to all so that he can win people to Christ. One of the things that
he has done is to deny himself payment so that he could defend himself against the accusation that he is a fraud. Therefore,
just as in the parallel verse (v.19), Paul says (in verse 27) that he makes his body a slave so that, after he preaches, he will not
partake of those things which he has a right to (v.4-14). He does this so that others will not accuse him of being a fraud,
and thus, make his preaching ineffective (i.e. “disqualify”). So, sin is not even being discussed here since those things that
he guards his body against are rights that he has but does not use. He does not use them because this may give substance to
the charge that he is a fraud, and if others think that he is a fraud, then his preaching will be ineffective. Thus, the meaning
of “disqualify” is to have his ministry be made ineffective because of the accusation of fraud.
John Gill, the famous Baptist preacher comments:
I myself should be a castaway,
or rejected, or disapproved of; that is, by men:
the apostle’s concern is, lest he should do anything that might bring a reproach on the Gospel; lest some corruption of his nature
or other should break out, and thereby his ministry be justly blamed, and be brought under contempt; and so he be rejected and disapproved
of by men, and become useless as a preacher: not that he feared he should become a reprobate, as the word is opposed to an elect person;
or that he should be a castaway eternally, or be everlastingly damned; for he knew in whom he had believed, and was persuaded of his
interest in the love of God, and that he was a chosen vessel of salvation, that could not be eternally lost: though supposing that
this is his sense, and these his fears and concern, it follows not as neither that he was, so neither that he could be a lost and
damned person: the fears of the saints, their godly jealousies of themselves, and pious care that they be not lost, are not at all
inconsistent with the firmness of their election, their security in Christ, and the impossibility of their final and total falling
away; but on the contrary are overruled, and made use of by the Spirit of God, for their final perseverance in grace and holiness.
-John Gill, Exposition of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 9:27
1 Corinthians 10:12
Reply:
This is a misrepresentation of Calvinist doctrine. No one can be infallibly certain that they are elect until they actually
reach Heaven (except in the case of a divine revelation which ceased with the last apostle). Thus, we must examine ourselves
and our faith in order to know with the highest certainty that one is going to Heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
Reply:
This passage isn’t even about apostasy. He is saying that their faith is vain if Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead. This is apparent from verses 3-10. “…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins”
(v.17).
2 Corinthians 12:5
Reply:
First
off, I don’t know what he is quoting, but it is not 2 Corinthians 12:5. Second, this is a misrepresentation of Calvinist doctrine. No one can be infallibly certain that they are elect until they actually reach Heaven. Thus, we must examine ourselves and our
faith in order to know with the highest certainty that one is going to Heaven.
Galatians 5:1-4
Reply:
James White comments:
“Paul is not talking about such a subject at all! He defines his audience: he is not talking to those
who trust in Christ and Him completely for salvation. He is referring to those who would be deceived into thinking that they
can add to the work of Christ…We would be wrong to misinterpret Paul’s words. He is not saying that these people once were united
to Christ but now have been separated…The language does not indicate this. It speaks of the fact that they, by their attitude,
are separated from Christ, and they have fallen far away from the grace of God…the person who seeks justification through the law
is severed from Christ, not in the sense of once having clung solely to Him for salvation (the very nature of saving faith already),
but in engaging in an attitude and action that is utterly contrary to the kind of faith that brings union with Christ. Such
a person is “fallen away from grace,” not because he once dwelt in grace, but because he has chosen the exact opposite realm of grace,
that of law-keeping.”
–James White, The God Who Justifies (
This passage
reminds me of Romans 11:6: “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” It also reminds me of Galatians 3:12: “However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”” One must also take into account the verse before 5:4 (that being 5:3): “And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision,
that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.”
This is his meaning of “severed from Christ”: either you take the Law, follow
it to the very word, and never sin once, or you take Christ and you can have your sins forgiven by grace. One can’t have it
both ways. One can’t say, “I’ll have my standing before God be based on my own goodness [i.e. keeping the Law], but whenever
I slip up, I want Christ’s forgiveness.” So, if one’s attitude is one of Law-keeping (i.e. self-righteousness), then he cannot
also have Christ’s grace (“severed from Christ”).
“Fallen from grace”: It is not that they were ever justified to begin
with and fell away from justification, but rather, they were never truly justified because they were self-righteous. They fell
away from grace in that they had never moved toward grace, but rather, they moved in the opposite direction, the self-righteousness
of Law-keeping.
Lastly, Timothy was
circumcised by Paul for evangelism purposes (Acts 16:3). Thus, the act of being circumcised in the New Testament can’t be a
mortal sin. Thus, Paul must be talking about the disposition those men had toward circumcision. As I indicated above,
a person’s works are indicative of their true spiritual state. Therefore, someone who accepted circumcision with the belief
that it was necessary for salvation was never regenerated to begin with.
Colossians 1:21-23
Reply:
As a logician would say, “A conditional statement asserts nothing indicatively.” This is a conditional statement. Thus,
it asserts nothing indicatively. Therefore, I would say that this is not prescriptive but descriptive. In other words,
Paul is describing those who will persevere and those who won’t. Those who persevere to the end had been justified from the beginning
while those who don’t persevere to the end had never been justified to begin with. He is not prescribing how to be saved.
Galatians
6:7-9
Reply:
Indeed, those who persevere
to the end will have eternal life. However, this is descriptive and not prescriptive. It is not saying that making it
to the end is dependent upon us. Rather, it is describing those that will be saved (i.e. those that persevere to the end). They persevere to the end, not because of their own striving, but because of God working through them.
(Not mentioned by Akin,
but still a verse used frequently: Philippians 2:12)
Reply:
-“work out your salvation with fear and trembling”: live out the rest
of your life with extreme reverence to God (kind of like people in the old days would say that they were ‘God-fearing’ people). This does not mean to have doubt or anxiety over the state of your soul if you are truly born again.
-In 4:6-7, it says not to be “anxious”
because the “peace of God” will guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This is a great promise of perseverance.
Philippians
3:12
Reply:
Paul is talking about persevering
in good works and growing spiritually. In verse 12, he says that he has not reached perfection but is striving toward it. A life of good works is why Christ called him to repentance and faith, but good works do not save (Ephesians 2:8-10). He was
pressing on toward his own perfection in sanctification.
“…being conformed to His death so that I may obtain the resurrection
from the dead”: All Christians must be born anew (“conformed to His death”) in order to enter the
These verses in no way suggest that Paul
didn’t know he was going to Heaven. In verses 20-21, he expresses the exact opposite. Also, in 4:3, he says that the names
of Clement, Euodia, Syntyche, and others were written in the Book of Life, the very book that was written and sealed from the foundation
of the world that contains only the names of the elect.
Colossians 2:18-19
Reply:
They were “not holding fast to the head” in that they never were. Instead, these proto-Gnostics were holding fast to angels
(“the worship of angels”). [The Gnostics thought that Christ was merely an Aeon, a messenger from the ‘Pleroma’.]
1 Timothy
1:5-6
Reply:
First of all, nowhere does it
say that these men were truly justified or regenerated. Second, “strayed from these things” refers to the heretics that were
not practicing the Law (“a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”) that God had placed upon all men. Thus, these
men were straying from God’s Law in that they never were practicing it in the first place. So, just as Romans
1 Timothy 1:19-20
Reply:
First of all, it never indicates that they were truly justified to begin with. Their faith could have been an outward faith
only.
1 Timothy 4:1
Reply:
It is possible
for one who is only outwardly Christian to wander away from the faith (i.e. they were never justified or regenerated). The Spirit
will allow those who were never truly in the faith to leave the visible church.
1 Timothy 5:8
Reply:
This does not say that he ever had the faith to begin with (i.e. he was never justified or regenerated).
1 Timothy 6:10
Reply:
It is possible for one who is only outwardly Christian to wander away from the faith (i.e. they were never justified or regenerated).
1
Timothy 6:18-19
Reply:
The amount of reward
in Heaven is determined by the good works done here on earth. This is not a reference to merit in the sense of the expiation
of sin. So, the sense of what Paul is saying is, “Do good works to store up an eternal reward so that you will have an incredible
eternal life” (“indeed” = incredible).
Hebrews 2:1
Reply:
Someone who only appears to be Christian can drift away.
Hebrews 3:12
Reply:
The author is telling Christians to be constantly examining themselves to make sure that they do not have a superficial faith (which
is really unbelief). If one finds himself or another to have superficial faith, then one must repent and ask for forgiveness. Nothing in here suggests that those who are in peril of damnation because of disbelief were ever justified to begin with.
Hebrews
6:4-6
Reply:
First, it also says that those
who have fallen away can never be renewed again to repentance: “and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to
repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” This is totally against Roman
doctrine which says that one can be renewed by confession to a priest! If we take this verse in the way Akin takes it, then
it would destroy his own theology.
Second,
the writer of Hebrews is writing to Jewish Christians who are being pressured by their families, friends, and neighbors to return
to the old ways (i.e. the Law).
“Some people were considering a return to the animal sacrifices of the old covenant, but
if Christ’s sacrifice wasn't enough to atone for all sins, no other sacrifice would be enough either. Rather than contradicting eternal
security, Hebrews 6:4-6 affirms it. Christ's work is sufficient to atone for all sins. People cannot be repeatedly lost and saved.
They're either saved once and forever or they aren’t saved at all. In verse 9, not falling away is described as a “thing that accompanies
salvation”, once again affirming eternal security. “Though we thus speak” in verse 9 is a reference to verses 4-6 having been hypothetical.
Nobody actually loses salvation. The point is that if salvation wasn’t secure in Christ, it wouldn’t be secure anywhere. Looking for
salvation in a return to animal sacrifices is hopeless, as is looking for salvation through works.”
-Jason Engwer, (http://members.aol.com/jasonte2/eternal.htm)
So,
what does it mean when it uses phrases such as “enlightened”, “tasted of the heavenly gift”, and “partakers of the Holy Spirit”? Even if this passage wasn’t hypothetical, I take these phrases to mean a temporary repentance (i.e. they weren’t spiritually regenerated)
caused by the Holy Spirit like that of King Ahab, the Assyrians, King Manasseh, or Nebuchadnezzar. I say this because a.) Akin’s
interpretation contradicts many other passages and b.) The verse never says that they were actually justified to begin with.
In conclusion, verses 9-20 explain 4-6. They explain that the falling away of those who were “partakers of the Holy Spirit”
would bring open shame on Christ by asserting that He was powerless. The author of Hebrews specifically says this is impossible
because it would make God unjust (v.10) and a liar (v.18). He says that God wants to show that his promise is unchangeable (v.17-18). What is His promise? It is that all who are justified are glorified (Romans
Hebrews 10:23-29
Reply:
-“…no longer remains
any sacrifice for sins”: This means that there are no more animal sacrifices since the old covenant ways were abolished. It is saying that those who give in to pressure and revert back to the old ways will have no forgiveness of sin in those repetitive
sacrifices. It is not saying that the application of Christ’s sacrifice will be nullified.
-The issue is in v.29: “…has
regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified…” There are three possibilities here: 1. ‘He’ refers
to the apostate and sanctified means “to make holy” (which would mean that he did lose his justification). 2. ‘He’ refers to
the apostate and sanctified means “to be set aside” (i.e. to be visibly not like the rest, its nominal Old Testament usage [Ezekiel
38:23] from which “to make holy” is derived). 3. ‘He’ refers to the Son of God and sanctified means “to be set aside” (i.e.
consecrated unto the office of High Priest).
Arguments for each:
a. (given by Akin)
b. The former believer was brought into the church
(i.e. sanctified: set aside) because he professed to believe in the story about Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection.
c. The
blood of the covenant which Jesus shed consecrated himself to the office of eternal High Priest. This would be logical because
of Hebrews 9:11-12. Also, see John 17:19.
I have to reject a. because of verse 14. Those who are sanctified have
been perfected for all time. Therefore, note that this is in the present tense and that verse 29 (“was sanctified”) is in the
past. So, if verse 29 is talking about the apostate, then ‘sanctify’ must (because of 14) be taken in its original sense, “to
visibly set aside from the rest”. Therefore, the apostate was only visibly part of the body of Christ because of covenant baptism
and the Lord’s Supper. This makes b. a very real possibility. The apostate insulted “the Spirit of grace” by deeming it
unworthy. It is not that he was indwelt by it and lost it. Lastly, option c. is also possible because of John 17:19.
A Defense of the
Perseverance of the
Saints
(Part 2)